Loki
by Wandergirl108
Summary: His family by upbringing has rejected him, and his family by blood disgusts him. Lost, hurt, and alone, can Loki find some place in the universe where he can belong? And will Odin ever be forced to answer for Loki's pain? DIRECT sequel to "Thor". Rated T for violence, some gore, and mild suggestive dialogue. Author's Notes at the end may answer any post-reading questions.
1. Chapter 1

"And what of Jotunheim?" Thor asked of Gatekeeper Heimdall. "Does it still exist?"

"Yes," Heimdall answered slowly.

"Is something the matter?" Thor asked, noting the Gatekeeper's hesitance.

"Jotunheim yet exists," Heimdall answered, turning to Thor, "but I can see none of it."

"How do you know it still exists, then?" Thor asked, confused.

"I can sense its existence," Heimdall replied, turning back to the void below the edge of the broken bridge, "but that is all. A shadow has fallen over the realm, one through which I can perceive nothing."

Thor was puzzled. Heimdall's eyes could see everything, everywhere, and there was no power he knew of that could veil anything from him.

"Have you any idea what the cause might be?" Thor asked.

Heimdall shook his head slowly. "This is not a situation I've encountered before," he said. "My only thought is that perhaps a large portion of the realm was destroyed by the Bifrost before you stopped it, and the rubble has formed a cloud that covers the entire expanse of what remains."

This was not a pleasant thought for Thor. "Keep trying," he ordered. "Do not cease in your attempt to pierce this cloud you speak of. It is important, if not vital, that Jotunheim be monitored."

"Yes, My King," Heimdall replied formally.

Thor sighed, sadness overtaking him once more. "And my brother?" he asked softly. "Can you see what has become of him?"

"No," Heimdall replied, this time with confidence. "I am afraid your brother is lost forever."

Thor lowered his head, fighting back tears. In spite of everything that had happened, and everything Loki had done and tried to do, Thor still loved him, and his loss left an unexpected and very painful void in Thor's heart.

He looked into the void below the bridge's jagged edge. He could still see Loki fall, defeat and despair in his eyes. Thor knew he would never fully understand his brother's actions, but what he did understand made him feel that Loki hadn't deserved the fate he had suffered. From what Thor could make out, Loki had acted out in reaction to discovering that he was a Frost Giant by blood, and Thor could hardly blame him for reacting so drastically, though he still failed to understand Loki's specific actions…

He sighed. "Thank you, Gatekeeper Heimdall," he said after a moment, and he turned and walked back to his palace, leaving the Gatekeeper to watch the other realms, like a sentinel statue.

~o~

The first thing Loki noticed when he came to was that he was cold.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. His whole body ached, and for a moment, he couldn't remember what had happened.

Then the memory hit him, and he closed his eyes again. Banished. No longer the son of Odin. And for what? Trying to _save_ Asgard? Trying to prove that he _wasn't_ a Frost Giant, despite his blood? The injustice of it all nearly brought him to tears. All he'd ever wanted was a chance. Was that really so much to ask?

_Mother._ She would understand. She wouldn't have banished him. But he could never see her again, because he was no longer welcome on Asgard.

Wait…so where _was_ he?

He forced his eyes open again. When he saw nothing but a cloudy sky, he pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around.

He appeared to be in the middle of an enormous crater. Everywhere he looked, rubble covered the landscape; nothing but shattered, icy boulders in every direction.

Suddenly, he realized where he was, and he collapsed onto his back again. _Jotunheim_. Of course. He couldn't be _dead_. No, that would be _fair_. Since when was life ever _fair_ to him?

Oh, well. Maybe the Frost Giants would kill him.

_The Frost Giants_. Where were they? Were there any left? Obviously, a large part of Jotunheim had been destroyed…maybe enough to wipe them all out? And, if they still remained, what would they do without their king?

What would they do when they found out he had _killed_ their king?

…What would they do if they found out that he was the _son_ of their king?

_Well, I will not find out by lying here,_ Loki thought to himself, and he forced himself up again, which was no easy task; he felt like he had been thrown bodily against the pile of rocks and boulders beneath him, which he probably had. Eventually, though, he managed to find his footing, and he looked around him, wondering which way he should go.

A gleam of metal caught his eye, a few yards away. He stumbled toward it, struggling to traverse the rough terrain.

He reached it. _His helmet_. The helmet that served both the function of a simple helmet and as a crown…the crown of the son of Odin.

_"No, Loki…"_ His father's words rang in his head.

He realized his thought a second too late: his father.

_No!_ he thought. _Odin is not my father! He said so himself! That's what he meant! No longer am I to call him my father! No longer am I his son!_

_…I was _never_ his son._

This last thought pained him, not least because he knew it was true; Odin had never thought of Loki as his son, even though he'd _called_ him "son" all his life. Odin's son was all Loki had ever wanted to be…all he had ever _tried_ to be…but he'd never had a chance at truly having the title, no matter what he might have done.

Angrily, Loki shoved his helmet onto his head. Why not? It was cold in Jotunheim, and his helmet was still a helmet, even if its meaning was void.

He struggled across the enormous crater the gate had left in the realm. Along the way, his thoughts turned to his brother. _Thor_. Not quite such a brat anymore, not since that woman had changed him, however she had done it. Loki could still see the look on Thor's face as he had allowed himself to fall into the vortex that the broken bridge had left behind. _Thor_would miss him. _He_ would be sorry; and even though Loki hated himself for it, the thought of Thor's grief over losing him made him smile…and he decided to make it worse. He paused, focusing his magic, and cast a shroud over Jotunheim. His spells had always been geared towards secrecy and trickery, and he had discovered, entirely on his own, how to cloak people, places, and things from the prying eyes of Gatekeeper Heimdall or Odin One-Eye. _Or whomever sits upon the throne of Asgard,_ Loki thought with satisfaction. Surely, Thor had been pronounced king by now…and he now deserved the title, thanks to Loki's mischief.

_Thanks to _me_,_ he thought, and his anger rose again as he thought of how he had been punished for doing Asgard a service. Odin had overlooked Thor's faults, because his other "son", Loki, had been a Frost Giant, and had thus been less worthy of the throne no matter what Thor turned out to be like…

Finally, Loki climbed out of the crater onto solid, ice-and-snow-covered ground. He looked around, but everything was still. Silent. There was no sign of any Frost Giants, anywhere…but Loki knew better than to be fooled.

Quickly, he conjured some shadow-sprites of himself and arranged them in an uneven pattern around him, so that if he was attacked, the attack would probably hit one of them. He then proceeded forward, having no idea where he was going but knowing that if he kept walking he would find something.

After a minute, though, he became too anxious to wait any longer. He stopped, and, with his shadow-sprites adding to his voice, he shouted, "Show yourselves! I know you are there!"

For a moment, everything was still. Then, Frost Giants started creeping out from behind boulders and within crevices in the sheer ice-and-stone walls that surrounded Loki. Soon, dozens, if not hundreds, of Frost giants stood around and above him, their glowing red eyes a sharp contrast to the gray skin that made them blend in with their surroundings. For some reason, though, they did not attack.

Loki, realizing that he didn't want to die, banished his shadow-sprites as a show of faith - having been raised as the son of Odin, he knew a great deal about politics. Alone and exposed, he turned around, acknowledging all of the pairs of red eyes that were on him, saying nothing.

Finally, an especially large Frost Giant stepped forward. His face was patterned with red lines that reminded Loki of cuts.

"Loki Odinsson," he said, his voice as slow and cold as creeping ice.

"No longer," Loki replied. "I have been banished from Asgard, and the name Odinsson has been stripped from me."

"Hmm…" the Frost Giant said ponderously. "What am I to call you, then?"

"Loki Silvertongue," Loki answered, coming up with his new name on the spot. "I am Loki Silvertongue." He smiled inwardly, proud of the name he had invented for himself; after all, it was fitting.

"Loki Silvertongue," the Frost Giant said; "what news do you have for us? Where is our king? Why has half of Jotunheim been destroyed?"

Loki took a breath to steady himself. Then, looking the Frost Giant in the eye, he said, "Your king is dead. I killed him." The crowd of Frost Giants rippled angrily, and incomprehensible mutters and whispers sounded all around Loki like rain. "As for the destruction of Jotunheim, that was also my doing," he continued strongly. "My intent was to destroy this realm, and all of you, once and for all, which is why I have been banished."

"That is _why_ you have been banished, you say?" the Frost Giant asked ponderously.

Loki nodded silently.

The Frost Giant slowly tilted his head. "Why did you do this?" he asked.

"To prove to the All-Father that I was not one of you," Loki answered.

Again, a ripple ran through the crowd.

"And why would you need to prove this?" asked the Frost Giant.

"I do not know you, nor what name I am to call you by, my good sir," Loki told the Frost Giant formally, "and, likewise, I do not know why I should be answering to you."

"My name is Yardaff Laufeysson," the Frost Giant said.

_Laufeysson_. Laufey had been the name of the king of the Frost Giants…which meant that this Frost Giant was the prince of Jotunheim…the _king_ of Jotunheim…

…and, by blood, Loki's brother.

"Son of Laufey," Loki said, bowing slightly, "forgive me, I did not know of you. As for why I felt the need to prove to the All-Father that I was not one of you…" He paused for effect. "It was because, by blood…I _am_ one of you," he said at last.

Another angry ripple ran through the crowd of onlookers, but before Yardaff could say anything, Loki added, "In fact, o son of Laufey, by blood, I am your brother."

"What proof have you of this?" asked Yardaff.

Loki held out his bare hand. "Your touch does not burn me, as it does the people of Asgard," he answered; "see for yourself."

Yardaff stepped forward and took hold of Loki's bare hand, and once again, Loki felt the strange sensation of cold spreading through his flesh, but from the inside out, as though ice was buried in his marrow and was suddenly spreading. It was not a painful sensation, merely a peculiar one, and he watched with Yardaff as the gray color of Frost Giants' skin spread across his hand and wrist.

Everyone who could see this phenomenon, including Yardaff, gasped.

"What is the meaning of this, Silvertongue?" Yardaff asked, astonished, releasing his hold on Loki's hand.

Loki silently watched the gray color fade away from his skin, and felt the equally odd sensation of heat spreading through his flesh from the outside in, before answering.

"You all know of how I, along with Thor Odinsson, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three, came here to Jotunheim just days ago," Loki began, "am I correct?"

The crowd in general responded that yes, he was correct.

"My - er, pardon me - _Thor_ came here, seeking battle," Loki continued. "Your king offered us a chance to leave, and we nearly did, but one of you threw a petty insult at my…at Thor, and he attacked, forcing the rest of us to join him in battle. During this battle, one of the Warriors Three was burned by the frost touch of one of you, and he called to the rest of us not to allow ourselves to be touched. A moment later, another one of you grabbed my wrist, and I experienced the same phenomenon you all just witnessed, though I didn't have time to wonder at it then. A day later, however, when my colleague was still being treated for his frost burn, and I was still unharmed, I had a thought, and, to see if I was right, I went down to the armory, to where the Ice Casket is being kept." Loki paused, turning his head left and right to look at all the Frost Giants around him. "I held it in my grasp, and I picked it up, and I felt its power flow through me," he told them. "It felt as though it was a part of me, and I knew exactly how to wield it." He turned back to Yardaff. "It was then that Odin came to me," he went on, "and that was when, and how, I learned that I was not the son of Odin by blood, but a Frost Giant, the son of Laufey. The All-Father told me that after the war, he had come across a Frost Giant babe in the temple, small for a Frost Giant, abandoned to die, or so he claimed, and took him in as his own: me."

Loki's rage at his mistreatment rose in his chest as he went on, "Suddenly, everything made sense to me; why Odin had always favored Thor over me, why no matter what error Thor made, no matter what I did to try to win Odin's favor, I was always passed over, and Thor was always the one who was praised. It had nothing to do with _who_ I was, with my relative faults or merits; Odin just didn't want a Frost Giant on the throne!" He clenched his fists. "What was more, when I asked him why he took me instead of just killing me, he said that he had hoped that I would be able to one day bring about peace between our two races. I was nothing but a tool to him! An ancient relic, locked away on Asgard until he had a use for me!" He was shouting by the end of this rant, and he took a moment to steady himself and breathe.

The Frost Giants were transfixed, and, based on the way they were looking at Loki, enraged.

"I shouted as much at him when he told me this," Loki said at last, his voice low, "and between my rage and Thor's banishment…it was too much for him. He collapsed into the Odin Sleep." Loki sighed. "Because it was brought on by stress, and hadn't been expected, Mother - the queen - refused to leave his side. So, with Thor banished, Odin incapacitated, and the queen…otherwise engaged, the duty of ruling Asgard fell to me." He looked up at Yardaff and the rest of the Frost Giants. "But I knew it was temporary," he told them. "I knew that as soon as one of them was available to take control, I would be pushed aside. I knew that, unless I did something big, something that would make Odin proud to call me his son, in what little time I had, I would never have a chance to prove myself." He chuckled humorlessly. "Of course, I never had a chance to begin with. I was only fooling myself by thinking I could prove myself under _any_ circumstances.

"At any rate, I decided that if I could kill Laufey, and destroy all of Jotunheim, Father - Odin - would finally see that I was just as worthy of the name Odinsson as Thor was." Loki lowered his head. "I was wrong. It is true that I did some…_distasteful_ things, out of desperation, but I believe that I would have been forgiven for that, had I not tried to destroy all of you." Loki's tone grew angry and spiteful as he said, "Father - Odin - respects _you_ all as people, but not me…Not the one he called his son."

For a moment, there was silence.

"I was raised being told that the Frost Giants of Jotunheim were monsters, one and all, which is why I thought I might gain favor with the All-Father if I destroyed this realm and everyone in it," Loki added after a moment. "Clearly, however, this is not the case…as I would be dead already, if you were indeed the monsters I was raised to believe you to be." He took a breath. "I apologize, for my crimes against you," he said, and he tried not to let his shame in saying the words show.

The Frost Giants were all speechless. Finally, Yardaff spoke.

"Brother," he said, his tone a strange mixture of grief, astonishment, and respect, "I believe I speak for us all when I say that you are forgiven for what little blame you hold for your actions against us."

"Brother?" Loki queried.

Yardaff nodded. "You are my brother, Loki Laufeysson," he said.

"No!" Loki exclaimed. Then, catching himself, he added, "I do not believe I am deserving of the name Laufeysson, as his death came by my hand. Please, call me Loki Silvertongue."

Yardaff nodded, oblivious to Loki's disgust at being given the name Laufeysson. "Loki Silvertongue, then," he said. "Whatever your name may be, you are my brother, and I wish Father could be here to witness your return."

"It is because of me that he is not," Loki pointed out.

"That is no fault of your own," Yardaff replied. "You have been corrupted by the All-Father's influence, and your perception of the universe has been twisted by your unjust upbringing. But you are my elder brother nonetheless, and now, at last, you have returned to us." Then, Yardaff made a strange gesture that vaguely resembled the traditional Asgardian gesture of respect and loyalty: he used his command of ice to sheathe his entire right hand in it, clenched his right hand so that the ice shattered and sprayed in all directions as he brought the fist hard to his chest, and got down on one knee. His words, however, surprised and confused Loki even more.

"All hail King Loki!" Yardaff called.

Before Loki could respond, all of the other Frost Giants made the exact same gesture at the exact same time. "All hail King Loki!" they called back.

Loki looked around at them, bewildered. "King?" he managed to ask.

"You are my elder brother, the first-born son of our late king, Laufey," Yardaff told Loki, still bowing down. "As such, the duty of ruling Jotunheim falls to you."

_"Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings…"_ Odin's words, from Loki's childhood, echoed in Loki's mind. _This was what he meant,_ he realized.

But he didn't _want_ to be king of Jotunheim! He didn't want to have anything to _do_ with Jotunheim at all! Blood or no, he was _not_ a Frost Giant, and he didn't _want_ to be!

"I…I…" Loki stammered. "I…Forgive me, but I do not think I can be your king. For one thing, I know nothing of your people, or your culture. For another, I know little of the realm of Jotunheim itself! Besides, I killed your king; surely I cannot rise to the throne that I myself emptied?" _Good. Give logical reasons. Don't sound too opposed to the idea; sound humble, regretful._ Loki's expertise in the art of manipulation guided his words and tone thus; he recognized that he could not antagonize the Frost Giants in his current situation, even though he had no intention of staying in Jotunheim any longer than was absolutely necessary.

"You were not to blame for our father's death," Yardaff replied, oblivious to the horror that internally shook Loki at the words "_our_ father", "and as his first-born son, the throne is rightfully yours."

_Relax,_ Loki told himself. _Breathe. Don't give any sign that what he's saying is your worst nightmare come true…_ "Your words hearten me," Loki lied, "but I simply cannot be king of Jotunheim, for the simple reason that I do not know how. I know nothing of your kind, of your culture or civilization. Besides," he added as he realized something on the spot, "I know what it is like to believe that you might rise to the throne one day, only to have that dream stripped away. I will not do to you what the All-Father did to me."

"Brother, your kindness gladdens me, for it shows that the All-Father, despite corrupting your body and mind, has failed to corrupt your heart," Yardaff replied, "but I cannot be king, for the simple reason that I cannot be your superior. You are my elder brother, and our ancestors would be outraged if _I_ were to rule over _you_."

Loki processed this for a moment; Yardaff's words told Loki that the honor system among Frost Giants was held to out of respect for their ancestors, and he knew that that bit of information would be useful, especially if, as it was looking like it would turn out to be, he would have to stay in Jotunheim for a while and live among the Frost Giants.

Then, he held out his hand.

"Then let us rule together," he proposed to Yardaff. "You know our people and our world, and I have the superiority that makes the throne rightfully mine. Together, we can rule Jotunheim better than either one of us acting alone."

Yardaff looked up at him but did not rise.

Loki forced himself to smile. "Come now, Brother, surely you realize that this is the way it should be."

"There has never been more than one king," Yardaff replied.

"There has never been a Frost Giant prince who was stolen from Jotunheim and made to be a member of another race, either," Loki pointed out.

Yardaff was silent for a moment. Then, he stood and said, "Brother, I would be honored to rule our people by your side, and I am happy to hear that you have not been made selfish and arrogant, like the Asgardians. I happily accept your offer." He reached out to take Loki's hand.

"Stop!" came a voice, the word like a shard of ice hurled through the air.

Loki, Yardaff, and the other Frost Giants all turned to see what appeared to be a ramp of ice extend through the air toward the two princes. A moment later, Loki realized that the trail of ice was being left behind by a single Frost Giant who appeared to be sliding down the ramp as it appeared in front of…_her_?

"Lady Enchessa!" Yardaff exclaimed, bowing slightly to the female Frost Giant as she reached the two royal Frost Giants.

"Prince Yardaff," Lady Enchessa replied coolly.

Loki stared. He had never seen a female Frost Giant before, and he had never imagined there being such a thing at that. Seeing one now made the Frost Giants seem more like people, and less like monsters. What surprised him even more, though, was that, in a way, she was actually rather attractive. She had long, black hair that fell down to her knees, a lean figure that was perfectly proportioned, and an angular, almost catlike face that was both elegant and fierce - it completely lacked the facial ridges that covered the faces of male Frost Giants, instead bearing only a black pattern. Were it not for that and her red eyes and gray skin, and if she had been just a bit smaller…

Lady Enchessa's glowing eyes glinted dangerously as she met Loki's gaze.

Loki cleared his throat. "My lady," he said formally.

"Be silent, Silvertongue," she hissed at him.

Loki blinked and obeyed, more out of bewilderment than respect.

Lady Enchessa turned on Yardaff. "Shame on you," she said scathingly, each syllable like a dagger of ice thrown at the Frost Giant prince. "Shame, for being so easily taken in, by one who flaunts his untrustworthiness in your face. Shame, for being so easily fooled by one who calls himself 'Silvertongue'."

"My Lady, pardon me, but I do not understand what it is you are objecting to," Yardaff said, his tone surprisingly submissive. "Loki Silvertongue is my elder brother, returned to us at last; surely you know what custom dictates to be the proper course of action."

"Your elder brother, indeed," Lady Enchessa sneered. "A powerful sorcerer with pretty words, spinning a yarn of abduction and mistreatment. Does it not strike you, o son of Laufey, that his story is _perfectly_ portrayed to enrage all of us, to make us sympathize with him and take his side?" She whipped her hand through the air, causing a small chunk of ice to be hurled against the ground, and Loki took the gesture to be akin to spitting in disgust.

"We all know the power of our frost touch," Yardaff protested, still sounding oddly submissive, "and we all see that it does not harm him as it does the people of Asgard."

"We all also know what the people of Earth call Loki Odinsson," Lady Enchessa hissed back: "Loki the Trickster. We all know of his propensity for mischief, and his adeptness at trickery and illusion."

"My lady, I understand your concern, but there is no spell that would allow him to feign such resistance," Yardaff replied. "Even if there were, how could he know to make his story match so well the story we all know of the first-born son of Laufey?"

"We have always suspected that the crown prince of Jotunheim was slain by Odin One-Eye," Lady Enchessa shot back. "Why is it unlikely that his sons would know of it from him? As for the spell you say is impossible, it would not be the first trick that Loki Odinsson invented entirely on his own."

"Which serves to back his story!" Yardaff replied. "The people of Asgard have always been warriors, not spellcasters! Loki has always seemed unusual for his kind!"

"Regardless of whether or not he _is_, in fact, your long-lost brother, shame on you, for not seeing that his blood disgusts him if he is!" Lady Enchessa snapped. "He does not wish to be one of us! The All-Father's influence has corrupted his mind, turning him completely against our people! Can you truly say that you do not see how much he hates the thought of being one of us? Did you truly not see his disgust and horror upon being called 'Laufeysson'? Do you truly not understand his objection to being our king?"

"Lady…Enchessa, was it?" Loki interrupted, unable to remain silent. "I beg your pardon, but your boldness puzzles me. I've never heard of a woman who would dare speak to her king in such a manner."

Lady Enchessa stared at Loki for a moment, then turned back on Yardaff. "You see?" she exclaimed. "He knows nothing of our kind! He has been twisted and corrupted to hold to Asgardian beliefs and standards! He will never be able to live among us, not even if he wanted to!"

"Which is precisely why I object to being your king," Loki replied before Yardaff could say anything. "I am perfectly well aware of the fact that I know nothing of Jotun society or culture. How could I even begin to rule you?"

"How indeed?" Lady Enchessa snarled back. She turned back to Yardaff. "Shame on you; shame!" she hissed again. "He killed our king, your father, and you would welcome him with open arms? Look at him! The All-Father has transformed him so that he is no longer one of our race! You think our ancestors would smile upon us if we allow an Asgardian to take the throne, and one who killed our king at that? For shame, Prince Yardaff - shame!"

"He was denied the throne of Asgard because he was one of us!" Yardaff protested. "If we deny him the throne of Jotunheim for being one of them, we are no different from the All-Father! What's more, he has no aim of ruling us without knowing us! He would have me share the throne, for that very reason!"

"If your objection, Lady Enchessa, is caused by the fear that you cannot be queen, I would like to relieve you of that fear however I can," Loki said, surprising everyone.

Yardaff and Enchessa turned to Loki, wide-eyed.

"Brother, here, lend me your hand," Loki said to Yardaff, extending his left hand to him. "I think I may know how to alleviate this issue."

Hesitantly, Yardaff reached out and took Loki's bare hand. Once more, the peculiar icy sensation spread through Loki's hand and up his wrist, but this time, he held on. As he had expected, the curious sensation spread up his arm, across his chest, down his torso, through his legs and feet, across to his right arm and hand, up his neck, and through his face and head, until it permeated his entire body.

Everyone gasped.

"Does this relieve your concerns?" Loki asked Enchessa, his voice slow and cold like that of any male Frost Giant.

Enchessa was speechless for a moment. "It certainly…convinces me that you are our long-lost crown prince," she said after a moment, "but…I still feel that you are deceiving us by pretending that you feel anything but repugnance at the thought of being one of us." She shook her head slightly and regained her superior demeanor. "And my concerns are not born of any desire to be queen," she added, condescending once more; "I have no such desire."

Loki didn't miss the brief flash of pain that flickered through Yardaff's eyes at her words, but he said nothing. He let go of Yardaff's hand, who let go of Loki's in turn, and slowly, the strange heating sensation spread across Loki's body, and he knew his appearance was changing back to that of an Asgardian.

"The All-Father's curse is powerful," Yardaff observed softly. He turned to Enchessa. "Perhaps you can find a way to break it permanently?" he asked her.

"It seems to me that exposure to our essence is what combats this curse," Enchessa replied icily. "Perhaps prolonged exposure will eventually wear it away."

_Prolonged exposure…meaning I cannot stay here indefinitely,_ Loki thought. "I've nowhere else to go," he said out loud, "so I doubt it will be long before your theory is proven or disproven."

"Have you truly nowhere else to go?" Enchessa asked, narrowing her eyes.

Loki took off his helmet and tossed it aside, doing his best not to show the pain it caused him. "The All-Father has cast me out, for the very same reasons he took me in," he told Enchessa, raising his voice so everyone else could hear. "I have no place on Asgard, and though it is true that I can travel between the realms using secret passages that no one else I know of can find, where would I go? I have no claim to a home in any other realm. No; Jotunheim is the only realm in which I can claim to belong, and so it is the only home I have."

"Would you rather have a home on Asgard?" asked Enchessa, her eyes still narrow.

_Amateurs manipulate people with lies; it is the sign of a true master of manipulation that he manipulates people using the truth whenever possible._ "Yes," Loki answered immediately, another lesson he had learned in the art of manipulation coming to him. "Yes, I would much rather live on Asgard, for it has been my home all my life. My preferences, however, do not matter; I have been banished, and that is that. This is the only place I have left that I can call home, and so it shall be my home, if you will allow me to stay here."

"Of course we shall!" declared Yardaff.

Enchessa was silent for a moment.

"Very well," she hissed at last. "But know this, Silvertongue: I will not trust you so readily as His Highness Yardaff."

"Lady Enchessa, you are wise to be so wary of me," Loki replied with a smile. "I happily accept the necessity of earning your trust."

Enchessa nodded. Then, without a word or a bow, she turned around and sprinted away, and Loki observed how she used her powers over ice to boost her steps by making push-offs rise under her feet as she took each step.

When she was gone, Loki turned back to Yardaff. "Well then, Brother," he said, "let us go home; I've much to learn from you." He held out his hand once more.

"Welcome home, Brother," Yardaff said, and he took Loki's hand and smiled. As Loki felt the icy sensation spread through his body once more, he heard the shattering of ice as all the Frost Giants in attendance made their strange gesture again, followed by the chant that they all said at once.

"All hail King Loki! All hail King Yardaff!"

~o~

The ice palace had narrowly escaped being damaged by the Bifrost, so Loki was able to see all of it in its full, icy glory. As luck would have it, night was falling as he and Yardaff approached the enormous building, so Loki was immediately showed to his chambers.

"It is right and fitting that you have Father's place, as you are the heir of our legacy," Yardaff told Loki as he guided him to the king's chambers.

Loki had picked up his helmet, and was carrying it under his arm. Discarding it had been a symbolic gesture, but he intended to keep it for practical uses. Now, he set it down on a table near the door.

"Thank you, Brother," he said to Yardaff, and was pleased at how easily he was able to call Yardaff "Brother".

"You are quite welcome, Brother," Yardaff replied. "Good night."

"Good night to you," Loki answered.

Just before Yardaff left, he said, "I am happy that you have returned."

"As am I," Loki lied, knowing he had no choice.

Yardaff nodded and left, closing the stone door behind him with a boom.

At last, Loki was able to hug himself against the cold. He did not like the cold, even though he was a Frost Giant.

He did not like being a Frost Giant.

_I have to get out of here,_ he thought, Enchessa's theory about how to break the spell Odin had cast on him to make him an Asgardian fresh in his mind. _But how? I cannot simply run off…_

_Or can I?_

~o~

Loki did not sleep well that night. His bed was an ice-covered slab of stone, and the fire from the torches, he discovered, radiated cold instead of heat. To make matters worse, despite not being a man, he could not go on without sleep indefinitely, so even though it wasn't too much of a strain for him not to sleep that one night, he worried that it would quickly take a toll.

Regardless, when he greeted Yardaff in the morning, he was able to perfectly pretend to have enjoyed the night, and greeted him warmly…though he wasn't sure if "warmly" was the right word to use among Frost Giants.

"Good morning, Brother," he said, initiating the greeting.

"Good morning to you as well, Brother," Yardaff replied. "I trust you slept well?"

"Very," Loki lied, and he quickly changed the subject. "Now, Brother, I was hoping you could begin to teach me the ways of our kind?"

"It would be my honor," Yardaff replied with a slight, informal bow.

Ten minutes later, they were seated next to each other on stone benches that surrounded a fire pit, in a room full of elaborate stone pillars.

"From what you told me yesterday, I gather that the honor system among our kind is held to out of respect for our ancestors?" Loki prompted.

"Indeed, Brother," Yardaff answered. "Our ancestors watch over us, and we must work to make ourselves worthy of their heritage."

Loki nodded, restraining the part of him that wanted to laugh at the absurdity. _"Worthy of their heritage"? Who would want to be "worthy" of inheriting the legacies of a bunch of lowly Frost Giants?_ Despite his attempts to control himself, he couldn't completely hide a smile.

Quickly, he changed the subject to cover it up. "About Lady Enchessa," he said; "I realized when I met her that, _before_ I met her, I had never even heard of a female Frost Giant. To be honest, it never even occurred to me that such a thing existed."

"In that case, your education regarding us was severely lacking," Yardaff said.

Loki nodded. "Honestly, the only thing the All-Father ever told anyone about your - I mean, _our_ - kind was how you - we - started a war against the other eight realms, and how the Asgardians were the only ones strong enough to fight back and put a stop to it."

"Lies!" spat Yardaff. "It was the _Asgardians_ who tried to take over the nine realms with brute force, not us!"

Loki blinked. "What…is the traditional story of the war here?" he asked slowly.

Yardaff took a breath, and Loki noticed that the icy vapor that surrounded him as his body temperature froze the water in the air around them had gotten thicker. _Frost Giants get_colder_ when they're angry?_ he thought.

"Eons ago, a king rose to the throne of Asgard," Yardaff began; "not Odin, but his father. This king was…especially ambitious, and took great pleasure in victories over opponents in combat. As king, he was, as I'm sure you know, the one with the power to declare war and direct the people of Asgard in battle. So greedy and battle-hungry was he that he decided to wage war upon the realms, and take over those realms who did not have the strength to overpower the Asgardians.

"He went through the realms, one by one, leaving nothing but desolation in his wake. After four conquests, however, he came to Jotunheim, and found that we Frost Giants were much more formidable adversaries than any other race in the universe.

"This king fought with all his strength, wielding the war hammer, Mjolnir, with great skill, but it was not enough to overpower us. Instead of being disheartened by our strength, he grew ever more enthusiastic about conquering Jotunheim, as it posed a challenge he considered worthy of his power and skills in battle. His enthusiasm became an obsession, and he poured all his resources into the battle with our one realm.

"By this time, our people had realized what he had done, and what he was intending to do, and we knew that if we did not stop him, he would destroy every race in existence. We found our ways to the conquered realms, and we battled the Asgardians both here and there, glad to lend aid to the realms that had fallen.

"Our two races were very evenly matched, and this king's life ended long before the war was resolved.

"Then Odin came to power, and things changed. By then, most of the people of Asgard, and most notably Odin's father, had forgotten about the quest to conquer the realms, and knew only the war against our kind; many had even forgotten what had started the battle in the first place. If what you say is true, Brother, then it confirms what we concluded long ago: Odin was raised being told that our kind were enemies, nothing more. So, of course, when he came to power, the war continued. Unlike his father, however, Odin, being of a more rational mind and purer heart, was able to unite the people of Asgard into a strong, cohesive group, and the tide of battle turned in their favor.

"Led by their new king, the Asgardians drove us back to the very heart of Jotunheim. Our father, King Laufey, had also come to power in the middle of the war, and when the Asgardians cornered us, he felt great shame at having failed to complete the task his father had begun. However, instead of wiping us out, Odin offered us a truce, to the great surprise of each and every one of us. Realizing that Odin would not attempt to conquer and destroy the other realms, our father realized that he had not failed, after all, and accepted.

"As the victors, the Asgardians were the ones who dictated the terms of the truce, and those terms were that we were to stay in Jotunheim, never traveling to any other realms, and that our sacred relic, the Ice Casket, was to be locked away from us on Asgard. As there was no real need for the Ice Casket in times of peace, Father readily accepted these terms, and for a brief moment, there was hope that our races might one day reconcile."

Yardaff clenched his fists and jaw, and the icy vapor around him grew thicker once more. "After Odin One-Eye left, however, Father discovered that his newborn son, his first-born, was nowhere to be found in Jotunheim. Realizing that Odin must have taken him, Father made a binding pledge to one day avenge his son and kill Odin One-Eye." Yardaff's expression softened. "Father thought you were dead," he said, and Loki was surprised to recognize a trace of sadness in Yardaff's voice. "He thought that Odin had found you and slaughtered you - an innocent babe!" Yardaff sighed. "On its own, this action would have been understandable, if not forgivable," he said, "but to add unbearable insult to this atrocity, Odin had taken your body away, so that Father would not even be able to lay you to rest."

"The All-Father said that I had been abandoned to die," Loki said softly.

"That is untrue, though perhaps it was an honest mistake," Yardaff said. "Father left you in the temple so that you would not be in harm's way during the battles."

Loki closed his eyes, stunned by all he had just been told, and took a minute to process all of it.

"So…are you telling me that the tension between Asgard and Jotunheim today is because of…_me_?" Loki finally asked, opening his eyes again.

Yardaff nodded.

"So Odin never told any of you about me?" Loki asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

Yardaff shook his head.

"Well," Loki said, "it seems that I was not the only one he should not have kept the truth from."

Yardaff laughed, though there was no humor in the sound. Still, Loki was once again surprised at how _person_-like Frost Giants seemed to be.

"Brother, if Father had known the truth - _all_ of it - he would have thrown caution to the flames and restarted the war," Yardaff told Loki.

Loki blinked. "Why?" he asked, puzzled. "The All-Father didn't kill me."

"No," Yardaff said, baring his teeth as his voice became harsh with anger once more, "he didn't…he did something far, _far_ worse." Yardaff's fists clenched again, and the icy vapor around him once again became a thick cloud. "Had the All-Father killed you, it would have been understandable - no doubt Father would have done the same. We would have killed_Odin's_ son quickly and mercifully, had we been in his position…but we would not have sunk so low as to kidnap his son, make him believe himself to be one of us, and force him to grow up as you did, ignored and down-trodden, without even letting him know why." Yardaff closed his eyes in cold fury. "Brother, what Odin One-Eye did to you was despicable and unforgivable," he told Loki. "Your mistreatment is an insult, not only to you and our father, but to all of our race, and Odin will never be forgiven by any of us for what he did to you."

For the first time in his life, Loki was completely at a loss for words. Between Yardaff's story and what Yardaff was saying now, and everything else surprising that Loki had come across regarding Frost Giants during his brief stay in Jotunheim, Loki was forced to come to terms with the fact that Frost Giants weren't monsters at all; they were people, just like the people of Asgard. This epiphany shattered one of Loki's core beliefs, and the shock was stupefying.

"Thank you, Brother," Loki said at last. "I've never before been given the welcome and…kindness, that you and all of our kind have shown me since I came here."

Yardaff nodded. "Brother, the mistreatment you have unfortunately grown accustomed to is the opposite of the way you will be treated here. You are my brother, crown prince of Jotunheim, and I know I speak for all of our people when I say that we are all very happy to witness your return home."

"Well…_most_ of our kind," Loki commented. "The Lady Enchessa is not so easily impressed."

Yardaff smiled, his expression almost wistful. "The Lady Enchessa is the finest spellcaster to have ever graced our realm," he said. "Being such a powerful sorcerer yourself, I cannot help but think that she may fear that her renown might be at stake."

"'The finest spellcaster to have ever graced our realm'…" Loki repeated with a smile.

"While us males tend to be more battle-oriented, the female members of our race tend to be more magically adept," Yardaff explained. "That is why you've not seen one before yesterday; females have a different area of expertise than us warriors, and very few of them have ever desired to take part in battle over the course of our history. Of course, there are exceptions to both generalities; I believe it is safe to say that you are, at the very least, the finest _male_ spellcaster to have ever graced our realm."

Loki tilted his head and nodded, accepting this. Then he asked, "Are you in love with Lady Enchessa?"

The question held more significance than it appeared to on the surface. _If Frost Giants are people, they can love,_ thought Loki. _If they can't, then they're monsters._

_Wait…can_ I_ love?_

"Lady Enchessa…is…" Yardaff smiled. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I am."

Loki smiled back, deciding to figure out his own issues later. "I knew that there was some issue with that," he told Yardaff. "At first, I thought it was with her…My apologies for my mistake."

"There is no need to apologize, Brother," Yardaff assured Loki.

Loki nodded pensively. Already, he had learned a great deal about Frost Giants. His gaze turned to the fire.

"Brother, can you explain something to me?" he asked Yardaff.

"What do you wish to know?" Yardaff asked in reply.

Loki gestured to the fire. "I have noticed that fire here in Jotunheim behaves differently than it does elsewhere. It is cold."

Yardaff nodded. "Such is the nature of fire in this realm," he told Loki. "Frost Fire, it is called. It is simply the way fire works here in Jotunheim."

"So there is no warm fire in Jotunheim?" Loki asked.

Yardaff shook his head.

_Damn._ Loki tried to hide his panic in response to this piece of news. _How will I stay warm?_ he wondered frantically.

Deciding to get his questions about Frost Giants answered before he tried to figure out any solutions for his own issues, he asked Yardaff, "Is it normal for the common folk here to challenge their king? I realize now that Lady Enchessa is not simply a commoner, but her boldness was unlike anything I've ever experienced before."

Yardaff tilted his head. "Tell me," he said, "what does etiquette dictate on Asgard?"

"Well, no one confronts the king as she did," Loki said, "especially not women. Women do not question the king, and if a male has some objection, they…well, they generally go about making it with a great deal of bowing and groveling and whatnot. The king is beyond reproach, and it is a gross breach of etiquette to treat him with anything short of reverence."

"What is the king's purpose, if no one is allowed to challenge him?" asked Yardaff, sounding puzzled.

"The king makes the rules," Loki answered with a shrug. "He dictates who does what, and who is allowed to do or have anything, and whether or not we go to war against another realm, and…essentially, everything."

"But if your king is beyond reproach, what gives him the right to make the rules?" Yardaff asked, still apparently puzzled. "No individual should have that much power."

"Well, what are the powers of the king here in Jotunheim?" asked Loki.

"Here, the king is an arbitrator," answered Yardaff. "The king is the one who is looked to for guidance in the most serious matters - _guidance_, nothing more. The king is the first one into battle, and the last one out, and he is responsible for the safety and well-being of all Frost Giants. The only thing that is entirely in the king's power to decide is war. Other than that, if the majority of the people object to a proposal by the king, he must concede. Furthermore, the king of Jotunheim is not superior to any other Frost Giant in terms of social interaction. Any one of the 'commoners', as you call them, may address the king in the same manner in which they would address anyone else."

It was Loki's turn to be puzzled. "In the same manner in which they would anyone else, you say?" he repeated. When Yardaff nodded, Loki asked, "You mean, in the way they would normally address other _males_?"

"Males and females are equals, and may speak to each other however they see fit," Yardaff replied, his expression implying raised eyebrows.

"That is not the way it is on Asgard," Loki told Yardaff, shaking his head. "Females may not challenge males. They are of an inferior class."

"And why is that?" asked Yardaff, still displaying the "raised-eyebrows" expression.

"Well, females are generally weaker than males," Loki replied, raising his own eyebrows in turn. "There are a few, such as Lady Sif, who break this stereotype, but for the most part, females are inferior, both in body and mind."

"Here, females are just as worthy of respect as males," said Yardaff. "As I said, they tend to be more magic-oriented than battle-oriented, but they also tend to be intellectually superior, if only slightly. It is typical for them to be physically weaker than males, but they are just as deserving of respect in their own right."

Loki blinked and shook his head in wonder. Things here were so different than they were on Asgard…and yet, things here were somehow also strangely more _just_ than what Loki had grown up with, and not only in regards to his own personal treatment. The more Loki thought about it, the more he realized to his complete surprise that he actually _preferred_ the way the Frost Giant community operated. _Women raised up from inferiority, and royalty brought down from superiority…_ he marveled. _What a wonderful system of society. _No one_ is looked down on here._ Having been looked down on all his life for reasons far beyond his control, Loki was able to fully appreciate the beauty of this system. "I…I do not know what to say, Brother," he said at last. "The society you describe is…so much more perfect and just than that on Asgard, and so very different from what I have grown accustomed to. I wish-" He stopped himself before he said something that betrayed his intention to leave.

"You wish…?" Yardaff pressed.

"I wish the All-Father saw things this way," Loki said, recovering quickly, true to his name. "He always goes on about being a just and fair king, but compared to the…people of Jotunheim, he's little more than a bully." It took Loki a moment for the words "_people_ of Jotunheim" to come, as opposed to "Frost Giants".

Yardaff nodded. "Unity is what finally gave the Asgardians the power to overcome us," he said. "Strange, that the king who was better able to unite his people should be the one to not support a system of equality in society."

"Strange indeed," Loki agreed.

They went on talking for a while, as Yardaff initiated Loki in the cultures, customs, and history of Jotunheim. Loki took it all in half-heartedly, and knew he had one more reason to hate the All-Father: Because he had grown up with Odin as his father, Loki would never be able to accept a place in a society that was, in his eyes, flawless.

~o~

~Four Days Later~

"Are you going out _again_, Brother?"

Yardaff's voice stopped Loki as he left the palace. It had been almost a week since he had arrived in Jotunheim.

Loki turned back to look at Yardaff. "Indeed, Brother," he said; "I cannot rule a realm if I do not know it."

Yardaff walked up to Loki, a solemn expression on his face.

"Brother, what concerns you?" Loki asked.

"There are some who are questioning your motives for going out every day," Yardaff replied gravely.

"Some…meaning Lady Enchessa?" Loki asked.

Yardaff nodded. "And others. There is…some concern that you may be going on scouting missions."

"_Scouting_ missions?" Loki repeated with a laugh. "Whatever would I be _scouting_ for?"

Yardaff sighed. "Brother, no one in Jotunheim contests that you are the long-lost crown prince of our realm," he said, "but some do contest that you _are_, in fact, an outcast from Asgard. Some fear that the All-Father is using your blood as a means of infiltrating us, so that he may wipe us out."

"Brother, that is absurd," Loki stated. "The All-Father _banished_ me for trying to wipe you out; he has no intentions of doing so himself. Besides, my-" He caught himself. "Thor probably sits on the throne now, and he is the one who _saved_ Jotunheim from me."

"I know, Brother," Yardaff said, "but there are some who are concerned…"

"What do you suggest?" Loki asked.

"Brother…" Yardaff hesitated. "Must you really go out every day?"

"Brother, if I am to be even half of the ruling force here in Jotunheim, I must at least know what this realm looks like," Loki said.

"Brother…" Yardaff hesitated again. "Has the Bifrost truly been destroyed?"

"Yes," answered Loki. Then, deciding that a show of faith would go over well, he added, "But that makes little difference. I am able to travel between the realms without the aid of the Bifrost."

Yardaff gasped.

"It is true," Loki assured him before he could say anything; "and yes, I am able to return to Asgard by this means."

"Loki…" Yardaff was dumbstruck. "How can this be? And why did you not mention this?"

"I _did_ mention this," answered Loki, "though I didn't make a point of it because I felt that there was no need. As for how it is that I am able to do this…" He shrugged. "I know not. Perhaps it has something to do with my propensity for secrecy and deception, but I have always been able to sense the secret gates between the realms."

Yardaff said nothing.

"Come," Loki said, gesturing to him. "Let me show you the secret gate to Asgard."

Silent with awe, Yardaff followed Loki to a spot not too far out of sight of the palace. It was a rather unremarkable location, little more than a gap in the boulders that littered the landscape, not that such gaps were uncommon.

"Here we are," said Loki.

"Here?" asked Yardaff.

"Do you not sense it?" asked Loki.

"Brother, I sense nothing out of the ordinary," Yardaff replied.

Loki stared at Yardaff for a moment, then turned to the sky. "Look closely," he said.

Yardaff followed Loki's gaze silently for a minute. "Brother, I see nothing," he said at last.

Loki looked back at Yardaff, then extended his hand wordlessly, which Yardaff took. Loki felt the ice in his marrow expand and spread throughout his body and looked back to the sky. "And now?" he asked.

Yardaff looked again. For a moment, he saw nothing. Then, he began to _sense_, more than _see_, a strange vortex of energy radiating from the ground beneath him to the sky. He looked more closely, and after a minute, he thought he could make out the realm of Asgard just behind the clouds. All of a sudden, he felt the tunnel he was standing in the middle of, and instinctively knew how to use it.

He looked back at Loki, who had transformed. Loki smiled back. "And now?" he asked, his voice slow and ice-cold.

"Yes, Brother, I see it!" Yardaff said, astonished.

Loki and Yardaff let go of each others' hands, and Odin's change reasserted itself in Loki's body and appearance. Despite no longer being in physical contact with Loki, however, Yardaff could still feel, and sense how to use, the gate he was standing in.

Then, to Yardaff's surprise, Loki took off his helmet and set it down in the center of the invisible gate. "I will leave this here," he said, "so that anyone who wishes to use it may; but I myself will not be using this gate. I will not deny that I want to, but I am not welcome there." He thought for a minute, then added, "And furthermore, tell our people that I will only explore our realm for one more year. After that, I will remain here, where I ought to be. In the meantime, whenever I am gone, I leave you in full command of our people." He smiled. "Will that satisfy our people's doubts?"

"If not, I've no idea what will," Yardaff replied, awestruck.

"Good," Loki replied. "Now, you should return; a realm should not be left without a king."

"Agreed," said Yardaff. "I am…I am pleased to be able to give our people your news."

Loki smiled. "Then do so," he replied. "Make haste!"

Yardaff covered his hand in ice, clenched his fist over his heart - causing ice shards to fly everywhere - and got down on one knee. Loki returned most of the gesture, though he wasn't yet able to conjure ice; he had learned that it was a sign of respect, though its precise meaning differed depending on the relationship between the one who made the gesture and the one for whom it was intended, and the circumstances under which it was made. In their case, it was a respectful farewell, and with that, Yardaff walked back to the palace.

Loki waited a minute, until he was sure Yardaff was gone. Then, he silently activated the gate.

The force of the wormhole pulled Loki to Asgard with incredible force, and he hadn't realized just how strong the force was before he tried to resist it. He couldn't go back to Asgard, he knew, but he wanted to get away from Jotunheim, if only for a minute. Finally, with a great effort, he managed to stop himself so that he was floating between the realms.

He looked at Asgard. His home, for so long. It shone beautifully, and from where he was, it looked like a palace of gold on a floating island of crystal. He could almost feel its warmth, rejuvenating him after his five days in Jotunheim.

Tears welled in his eyes - tears he would never allow himself to shed. Why him? Why had he been born to such a cursed fate? His family by upbringing had rejected him, and his family by blood disgusted him. Who was he? Was there anywhere that he could belong? Such were his thoughts, as he gazed mournfully at Asgard. All he really wanted was to go home…but he _had_ no home…He had _never_ had a home, not really…

_Asgard. The realm of the gods._ Loki smiled as he thought of what the people of Earth believed about him and the people of Asgard. _If only I _was_ a god,_ he thought. _If only there _were_gods…_

Suddenly, a thought struck him, one he had never bothered to consider before: _W__ere_ there gods?

Loki didn't want to think so. What gods could be so cruel, as to have given him his wretched lot in life?

Still…

"Dear gods, if gods there be, I ask that you hear my humble plea," he said softly. "Please. I do not wish to live in Jotunheim. I would…I would rather make my way in a realm which I have no right whatsoever to claim as my own. I shall…I shall spend one year searching for a gate from Jotunheim to another realm, and I shall take the first one I find, and live wherever it may lead me. If I do not find a gate within that time…I will…concede, to my blood, and live as king of Jotunheim, though I would rather die. Please, gods, if there be any who can hear me, grant my one, humble request: please, guide me home."

Loki took one last, long look at Asgard, then turned around and went back to Jotunheim, to search for his way home.

~o~

~363 Days Later~

Thor sat on the throne of Asgard, watching Jane, as he always did in his spare time.

He missed her so much. It was strange, really, how closely they had bonded, considering how brief the time had been that they had spent together. But somehow, in that brief time, they had fallen in love.

She still searched for him. She spent every day in her lab, on her computers, searching for the next time a gate would open between the realms, manipulating numbers in ways he couldn't even begin to understand.

Sometimes he wondered if he had made the right decision by destroying the Bifrost. The Frost Giants were enemies of Asgard, after all, and had Thor not smashed it with all his strength, using all the power in his great war-hammer, Mjolnir, he wouldn't be separated from Jane like this…

…And his brother would still be alive.

No matter how many times Thor tried to tell himself that the Frost Giants were a race, like humans and Asgardians, and therefore had a right to live, it ate away at him, day and night, that he had been forced to break his word for their sake, and that his brother had been sacrificed likewise. Sometimes he told himself that Loki was better off dead, that their father would have banished him to some strange realm to fend for himself, and that perhaps, in death, he was at peace…but whether that was true or not, it wasn't enough. Thor missed him, just as he missed Jane. Loki had always been his brother, and he would always love him as such, whether they shared blood or not, and though just three days more than a year had passed since Loki's death, the pain was no less…nor was his pain at being separated from Jane.

Only one thing kept a spark of hope alive in him: Jane had known that Thor was coming to Earth _days_ before Odin himself had known what he was going to do. If Jane could just find another opening…Maybe such events were unavoidable…

So far, though, Jane had nothing. Thor knew he didn't really have any reason to expect things to change, but he just couldn't bring himself to look away from her for more than a few seconds, not even to try to descry Jotunheim, which remained veiled to him, Heimdall, and his father, though he also desperately wished to see…

"Darcy! Erik! Come here!"

Jane had looked up from her calculations and was calling to her friends. Thor sat up in his throne.

"What is it, Jane?" asked Darcy.

"Look, look!" Jane exclaimed, pointing at one of the screens in front of her excitedly.

Erik and Darcy squinted where she was pointing.

"Is that-?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Jane, nearly jumping for joy. "It's the beginning of a wormhole!" She grinned at what constituted her family. "He's coming back, just like he said he would!"

"Jane…are you sure?" asked Darcy, unconvinced.

"Yes!" exclaimed Jane. "See?" She pointed to something that Thor couldn't make any sense of. "Right there. A funnel is starting to twist the space-time continuum, just like last time." She smiled. "At the rate it's forming, I'd say he'll be here in two days."

"That's a few miles northeast of us," said Erik. "If we only have two days, we'd better pack up."

Wordlessly, Jane tore out of her lab and started frantically packing.

_Two days_…Was it true? Was he really going to be able to be with her again?

~o~

~Two Days Later~

_A year and five days in Jotunheim…or forever,_ thought Loki.

It was his last day. If he didn't find a way out of Jotunheim by sunset…

"Be well on your way, Brother!"

Loki turned to Yardaff's call.

"Thank you, Brother," he answered with a smile.

Yardaff took a long, absorbing look at Loki and smiled. "The curse is almost broken," he said.

"Indeed," replied Loki, forcing a smile in return. "In fact, I believe I shall be able to break it completely by the time I return tonight."

"For the last time," Yardaff added.

Loki nodded. His skin had lost any hint of pink long ago, and had recently gone from being a waxy whitish color to a bluish white. His eyes had gone from blue to purple, getting redder every day, and they glowed slightly. What was more, the facial markings that were the mark of royal blood were starting to show on his face. Soon, the change worked upon him by Odin would be undone completely.

"We eagerly await your return, Brother," Yardaff told Loki.

Loki smiled. "Because of my coronation?" he asked slyly.

Yardaff blinked, then smiled. "You were listening?"

"The shadows are my ears," Loki replied; yes, he had overheard Yardaff talking with Lady Enchessa about preparations for his coronation, so that he could officially be king…and he had heard something that concerned him. "What was that I heard about choosing a mate?" he asked.

"It is custom for the king to choose his queen at his coronation," Yardaff replied, and Loki could see a hint of sadness in his face. "It is the only time a male may have complete say in what female he marries, whether his mate desires him or not."

_Meaning Yardaff could have chosen Enchessa whether _she_ liked it or not,_ thought Loki, understanding Yardaff's sadness. _But since _I'm_ supposed to be king…_

"Brother, I hope you do not misunderstand me, but I do not know the female members of our race," Loki told Yardaff truthfully. "Apart from Lady Enchessa, I've had little to no interaction with any of them. I do not think I can choose a mate so quickly. Perhaps that particular matter could be postponed, on account of the circumstances?"

"Perhaps," Yardaff replied, and Loki knew that the only reason he was considering it was because he wanted the extra time to try to woo Lady Enchessa, before his chance was gone forever. Loki really _hadn't_ spent much time with the other Frost Giants, but the idea that Lady Enchessa was to be the queen of Jotunheim seemed to be commonly accepted as fact, due to her unprecedented magical skill and her remarkable beauty and intellect. True, she did seem rather close to perfect for most intents and purposes, and Loki supposed that he would have no choice _but_ to choose her, if he had to rise to the throne, but the fact was that he felt nothing for her. In truth, he had never had feelings for any woman of _any_ race; he occasionally wondered if he would ever even know what it felt like. _Not that that matters much, if I am to spend the rest of my days as a Frost Giant,_ he thought.

Loki made a slight bow with his head. "I shall return before the sun sets," he vowed, hoping with all his might that it was a lie.

"We eagerly await your return, Loki Silvertongue," Yardaff said in reply, and, as always, he made the traditional Jotun gesture of respect, which Loki returned.

As soon as Yardaff was out of sight, Loki fled as quickly as he could.

_I do not wish to live here!_ he thought desperately. _Please, _please_, let me find a way out today!_

The day passed, and Loki's panic started to rise as he frantically searched for a passage between Jotunheim and another realm. But alas, sunset came, and Loki knew it was over.

"Gods, if ye exist, it seems your will is that I live here," he said aloud. "There is no longer any reason for me to veil my existence from the people of Asgard; seeing me on the throne will cause them at least as much pain as it will cause me." He closed his eyes, and with a sigh of bittersweet relief, he banished the veil over Jotunheim that he had been maintaining since he had arrived there. "And…I concede…to my-" He stopped. He had been about to completely break Odin's transformation - the only reason it was still in place was because Loki had been fighting to hold on to it - but something about the air around him made him pause.

He closed his eyes, and opened himself to his immediate surroundings, and found to his surprise that he was standing in the middle of a trans-realm gateway.

_The veil!_ Of course! It had been blocking his ability to sense gateways he didn't already know of!

"Dear gods, I thank you; you have answered my prayer!" he cried joyously to the sky, and he activated the gate he stood in, not opening his eyes; it didn't matter what realm he was going to, he just wanted to leave. As the vortex opened and Loki was sucked through space to another world, he cried,

"Take me home!"


	2. Chapter 2

"He's coming!"

"Jane, wait a minute!"

"Come back!"

Heedless of the words of her close friends, Jane ran toward the cyclone of dust that had kicked up in the middle of the Aurora Borealis that had appeared in the sky.

"You're back!" she shouted, overjoyed. "You came back! You're back! Thor! You're back!"

As the dust cloud began to settle, a figure of a man with a cape became distinguishable in its midst, and Jane ran towards him.

"You're back!" she cried. "You're back! "You're-!"

Suddenly, she realized that the man was not Thor.

"…not…him," she finished as she stopped short, stunned, as the dust settled.

"I'm sorry," said the man, his back to her, as well as to Erik and Darcy, who had run up beside Jane. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"I…uh…yes," stammered Jane, embarrassed.

The man chuckled slightly. "Well, in that case, I do not need to open my eyes to find out which realm I've landed in." He stood up - he had been down on one knee - and turned around to face the three mortals who were staring at him, dumbstruck. "Hello, Jane," said Loki. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

Many lightyears away, on Asgard, Thor roared and rose to his feet in frustration as a cloud covered Earth, making it impossible for him to see who had just landed there.

~o~

The man standing in front of Jane was wearing a green cape, similar to Thor's red one, but his outfit, though certainly Asgardian, was much less armor-like than Thor's, and the featured color was green. He had straight black hair that was slicked back and came down close to his shoulders, and he would have been very attractive, if in a different way from Thor, except that his skin was a blue-white color, his eyes were red-violet and glowing, and red streaks slashed across his face like cuts in his skin.

"Who are you?" asked Darcy.

The Asgardian smiled. "If I told you that, no doubt you'd be upset…" He turned to the sky. "Not that it really matters."

"Um…" said Jane hesitantly. "Do, um…well, you're from Asgard, right?"

The Asgardian laughed. "I was once," he said cryptically, "but no longer."

"Okay…" Jane said slowly. "Um…do you know Thor?"

The Asgardian laughed softly but didn't turn to face her. "Indeed I did," he answered; "very well."

"Okay…" Jane said again, wondering why the Asgardian was so fixated on the sky. "Do you know where he is?"

"Doubtless, he is sitting on the throne of Asgard, as its new king," the Asgardian replied. Then, at last, he turned to face her. "He will not be coming," he told her.

"Why not?" asked Jane, her mind moving slowly to absorb this statement.

The Asgardian shrugged. "He cannot. It is no longer possible for _anyone_ to travel between the realms, due to his actions."

Jane's head was spinning, and she was too dumbstruck to think, but Darcy asked, "Then how'd _you_ get here?"

The Asgardian smiled. "I have…a gift," he replied. "You see, there are secret, isolated passages between the realms, but to my knowledge, only I have the ability to sense them without guidance."

"So…can you go get Thor, then?" asked Jane timidly.

The Asgardian laughed again, and Jane realized what was so strange about his laughter: there was absolutely no humor or mirth in it. "If only," he answered. "Sadly, I am no longer welcome there."

"Why not?" asked Darcy.

Before the Asgardian could answer, however, Erik spoke at last.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look so good."

The Asgardian looked silently at his bare hands, as though only just noticing that they were a bluish-white color. Then, he closed his eyes, raised his head, and breathed deeply, his sigh one of relief and relaxation.

Suddenly, his skin faded from bluish-white to waxy whitish, then to the typical brownish-pink of normal human skin, the strange patterns on his face faded away, and when he opened his eyes, Jane, Darcy, and Erik saw that they were a deep blue and no longer glowing.

"Better?" he asked, seeing the surprise on their faces.

The group of three nodded wordlessly, staring at him. As had been expected, he was very good-looking; more of a beautiful-handsome than a rugged-handsome, but extremely pleasing to the eye all the same.

"How…" Darcy said hesitantly. "How did you do that?"

To her surprise, the Asgardian bowed slightly and said, "Forgive me for my prior appearance; a year and five days in the icy realm of Jotunheim, and as much time living among my blood-kin, nearly undid the transformation the All-Father worked on me in my infancy; the warmth of this realm has allowed me to regain my preferred my form, and banish all semblance of my natural one."

"Who _are_ you?" asked Jane, his words meaning absolutely nothing to her. "And how did you know my name?"

The Asgardian smiled. "I know your name, Jane, because you are my brother's woman." His smile widened, but it wasn't a pretty sight. "You are the woman who changed him, and made him worthy of his powers, title, rank, and right to the throne of Asgard…and the one who made him wish to protect the Frost Giants from annihilation. Rather ironic, really, that the change you induced in him caused him to feel the need to destroy any chance of seeing you again, simply so that he could prevent the destruction of a race of beings he had no reason to believe to be anything but monsters."

"_You_…" Jane breathed, shock temporarily preventing her from reacting.

"Me," replied the Asgardian with a nod. Then, he bowed formally. "Loki Silvertongue, at your service," he said graciously.

"_Loki_?" exclaimed Darcy. "Thor's _brother_? The freak who tried to kill him?"

Loki sighed. "While I do not understand the logic behind your calling me a _freak_, apart from that, yes, that is I, though I am not proud to admit it."

"What are you doing here?" Jane demanded, anger rising past the shock.

Loki smiled humorlessly. "It seems what gods exist in this universe feel that this is to be my home…Either that, or my already-miserable existence is to finally be put to an end by your hand, if your anger at my past actions is great enough," he replied.

Jane blinked, unsure how to respond.

"Why can't Thor come, again?" asked Darcy.

"Why does it matter to you?" asked Loki in reply. "_You_ are not his woman."

Darcy was rendered unable to respond, but Jane said, "Answer the question."

Loki sighed. "My brother has destroyed the Bifrost - the Rainbow Bridge," he said. "Oh, I'm sure he would return here if he could," he added, seeing Jane's expression, "and he did not _wish_ to destroy it, but he felt that the race of Frost Giants was more valuable than keeping his word to you, for reasons I _still_ cannot fathom."

"I don't understand," said Jane. "What are Frost Giants? What do they have to do with the bridge?"

"It is a long story," Loki said with a shrug, knowing that that was the common expression to use in such a situation, and that Jane would beg him to tell her anyway.

"So tell it," demanded Jane, exactly as she knew he would.

Loki gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Long ago, a war was fought between the people of Asgard and those of a realm called Jotunheim, the latter being a race known as Frost Giants," Loki began. "That war ended around the time I was born, with the Asgardians being the victors. The people of Jotunheim had a war relic similar to Mjolnir, called the Ice Casket, which could magnify a Frost Giant's powers over ice to the degree of encasing an entire being in ice within seconds. That relic was taken from them at the end of the war and locked on Asgard, and they have since sought to get it back…or, at least, so it was assumed."

"What does any of that have to do with-?" Jane began.

"Less than a day before you met my hapless brother, he was to be crowned king of Asgard," Loki continued, interrupting her. "His coronation was cut short when some Frost Giants broke into the armory on Asgard in an attempt to take back the Casket…less than a second before his being crowned king would have become irrevocable, which is fortunate. The Destroyer stopped the Frost Giants before they could return to Jotunheim, and no great harm was done, but my brother, being arrogant and battle-hungry, plead with our father to restart the war with Jotunheim. Our father, realizing that this meant that Thor was not ready to be king, refused, and cancelled his coronation. Angry and self-righteous, my brother gathered Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and myself, and went to Jotunheim seeking battle." Loki sighed. "I will admit that I had a great deal to do with all of these events," he confessed. "It was I who let the Frost Giants into Asgard, to spoil my brother's big day, and I manipulated him into going behind Father's back to Jotunheim - though it didn't take much!" he added defensively, seeing the looks on the three humans' faces. "All I did was give him a tiny bit of encouragement, then try to talk him down once he got the idea in his head - admittedly knowing that that would only encourage him all the more - and he did the rest! Really, all I did was give him a little nudge, one that would have done nothing had he not already been arrogant and selfish!"

"Excuses, excuses," said Darcy.

Loki glared at her. "I wanted to make Father see that he wasn't worthy of the throne," he told them, "because he _wasn't_. You yourselves saw what he was like - going on and on about being 'the mighty Thor', looking down on everyone and thinking he could do anything with impunity." He shook his head angrily. "Father always told us that it is a king's duty to _prevent_ war, not _declare_ it, but the way my brother was, he would have started warring with the other realms before bearing the crown for a full day! I never understood how Father failed to see this, and why he always looked down on me and passed me over in Thor's favor, no matter what Thor did or how hard I tried to do better." He sighed angrily. "At any rate, we went to Jotunheim, though not before I secretly told Father where we were going - yes, I admit I did that too, which was _fortunate_, as we would all have perished had I not!" he added defensively as Jane and Darcy opened their mouths. "Thor and the king of the Frost Giants had a brief exchange, and we were offered a chance to leave, which _I_ accepted, and tried to get the others to, but one of the Frost Giants threw a petty insult at my brother, and…well, that was all it took; my brother attacked, forcing all of us to fight. During the battle, one of the Frost Giants managed to lay a hand on one of the Warriors Three, whose skin was burned by its frost touch. He called a warning to us not to allow them to touch us, but a second later, one of them grabbed my wrist." He paused and looked at his hand, as though he had never gotten a good look at it before. "It did not burn me," he said. "It did not even hurt. It merely felt…_peculiar_. The gray color of Frost Giants' skin spread from the point of contact, and it felt as though ice was spreading through my body, not from the Frost Giant's hand, but from my marrow." He shook his head as though trying to clear it. "I slew the Frost Giant who held me, and my hand went back to normal, completely unharmed. I didn't have time to wonder at it, though, not then. At any rate, we eventually fought our way back to the gate, but of course, the Gatekeeper could not open the way back for us, not with the Frost Giants on our heels. Fortunately, as I said, Father came and rescued us, and only just in time. Once we had returned to Asgard, he and my brother argued; Father tried to make Thor see that going to Jotunheim in pursuit of battle was foolish and reckless, and Thor tried to make Father see that war was the answer, not that it was or is. Their argument grew heated, and my brother called my father 'an old man and a fool'…and at long last, after _millennia_ of effort on my part, Father was _finally_ forced to acknowledge Thor for what he was, and banished him here."

"Wait, wait, wait," Darcy interrupted. "Millennia?"

"Yes," Loki replied. "I _still_ find it hard to comprehend why it took so long, even considering the circumstances, but-"

"You're telling us you're thousands of years old?" Darcy exclaimed.

Loki blinked. "Yes," he answered. "Why does that surprise you? I am aware that the lifespans of mortals such as yourselves are significantly shorter than that, but I have been a part of the mythology of your race for several millennia already."

Darcy blinked, embarrassed. "It's just…you don't look old," she said sheepishly.

Loki tilted his head, as though considering this, then gave her an odd half-smile. "Thank you," he said, his tone indecipherable.

"So then what happened?" Jane asked quickly.

Loki turned to Jane. "Then, he met you, and you know much of the rest of his story," he replied. "As for what happened back home - back on Asgard - Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were debating about what to do about Thor's banishment. They didn't want to leave him here; they failed to understand his faults, and that he deserved what he got - which is understandable, I suppose, as they were, and still are, his friends. One of them - Volstagg, the one who was hurt by the Frost Giants' frost touch - did little more than eat and complain about his burn wound. A whole day passed thus, and I finally had time to wonder at how he was so grievously wounded while I was completely unharmed…and I had a sudden thought, one that made everything clear to me." He closed his eyes and sighed, his tone becoming distant as he began to lose himself in the painful memory. "I went down to the armory, where the Ice Casket was kept," he said. "I held it in my grasp, picked it up, and felt its power flow through me…as though it were _part_ of me. That was when I knew…I was not an Asgardian. I _am_ not an Asgardian, not by blood. No…" He clenched his fists and sighed painfully. "By blood, I am a Frost Giant myself."

"You don't look like one," Darcy said, sounding surprised. "I mean, not that I know what they look like…What do they look like?"

"Oh, they look nothing like me," Loki reassured her. "Well, not right now. They look a bit like the way I did mere minutes ago." Seeing the confusion on the faces of his audience, Loki explained, "The All-Father - Odin - is very powerful. When he found me, he worked a change on me, transforming me into a member of a different race. I realize this may be hard for your kind to comprehend, but such is the power of Odin One-Eye."

He paused. When Erik, Jane, and Darcy were silent, he continued, "No sooner had I realized what I was than Father came to me and told me the truth: not only am I a Frost Giant by blood, but I was the son of King Laufey."

"So you're the _prince_ of the freezer people?" Darcy asked.

"Frost Giants," Loki corrected, "and yes, I was…_by_ _blood_, nothing more." His fists clenched, and he turned back to the sky. "Suddenly, everything made sense to me," he said, a cold fury creeping into his voice. "Why nothing I did, and nothing Thor did, seemed sufficient to change the fact that Father favored him over me. It had nothing to do with who I was, nor with who he was; Father simply didn't want a Frost Giant on the throne! What was more, when I asked him why he took me, he told me he hoped that one day I would be able to bring about a peace between our two races. A tool - that was all I was to him! An ancient relic, left over from the war, locked away on Asgard until he had a _use_ for me! I wasn't his _son_! I wasn't even a _person_ to him! I was…I was…!" Loki shook his head angrily, temporarily rendered speechless by his rage. "I was _nothing_ to him!" He gritted his teeth. "That would have been bad enough, had he at least been honest with me about it from the start," he snarled, "but he made me think, all my life, that I was Loki _Odinsson_…that I _was_ somebody to him. He gave me the illusion, all my life, that I had a chance, that I could be worthy in his eyes, that it was my _fault_ that he looked down on me!" Tears welled in his eyes - tears of both rage and pain, that had been withheld for far too long - and he paused, fighting to keep holding them back, while Jane, Darcy, and Erik stared at him in shock.

It was a full minute before Loki trusted himself to speak again. He took a deep breath. "I was angry when he told me this," he continued in a low voice, "and I shouted at him…essentially what I just said to all of you. Between my rage and Thor's banishment, however…it was too much for him. He collapsed into the Odin Sleep."

"So it was _you_ who killed him, not Thor?" Jane exclaimed.

"The Odin Sleep is not _death_, Jane," Loki replied. "It is merely an affliction of his, a result of his age. It happens every now and again, and it is a simple matter of him falling into a coma, nothing more, if one from which he cannot be awakened, and during which he must be cared for intensively." He sighed. "Unfortunately, in this particular instance, because it was brought on by stress, it was unexpected, and we were not prepared for it. Mother - the queen - was therefore deeply concerned that he would never wake, and refused to leave his side."

"So Thor was here, Odin was in a coma, and the queen was…"

"Otherwise engaged," Loki finished for Darcy, nodding. "That left no one to take on the responsibility of being ruler of Asgard…save for me." He gave the others a twisted smile. "And a realm should not be left without a leader. How your kind manages to get by without one absolute ruler is beyond me."

"We don't do it very well," Darcy said, almost to herself.

Loki's smile widened. "Indeed," he agreed, "but we digress. To return to what I was saying, yes, the duty of ruling Asgard fell to me…but I knew it was temporary. I knew, as soon as any of the house of Odin was available to rule once more, I would be pushed aside, and what I foolishly managed to convince myself to be my chance to prove to Odin that I was not a Frost Giant, and that I was worthy of his name, would be gone." He sighed again. "I was desperate," he said, looking at the three humans who were all but entranced by his story, "and I did some things out of desperation that I would take back, if I could…most notable of which was sending the Destroyer to wreak havoc on your realm and kill my brother. I feared that he would return, and I knew I would lose everything if that occurred…Of course, I had nothing to begin with, but I held on to false hope, for it was all I _truly_ had." He sighed again, this time sadly. "It was not my brother's fault that Father did what he did to me," he admitted, "and I should not have taken out my pain on him…nor on the people of this realm. My action thus was an atrocity for which I cannot even begin to ask for forgiveness. In my defense, I was not thinking clearly, though I am aware that that is no excuse."

There was silence for a minute.

"About why Thor can't come back…" Jane began hesitantly.

Loki sighed again. "While my hapless brother - and, later, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three - were here on Earth, I worked to prove myself to Father before he awoke," he continued. "I lured King Laufey of Jotunheim to Asgard, telling him that he could reclaim the Ice Casket and kill my father in his sleep. He accepted, having no reason to doubt me once I told him that it had been I who had allowed the Frost Giants to break into the armory on the day that would have been that of my brother's coronation. Just as he was about to slay my father, _I_ slew _him_-"

"Which one?" Darcy asked suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked, confused.

"Which father?" Darcy asked. "Odin, or that freezer guy-?"

"_Frost_ _Giant_," Loki corrected, "and I slew Laufey, not Odin. Laufey was _not_ my father, blood or no." He paused, then went on, "No sooner had I done this than Thor returned…but I was so close. I had but one last thing to do to complete my plan, and I couldn't stop then, not after I'd come so far. So I brushed aside my brother's accusations and went to the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim."

"To destroy Jotunheim?" Jane exclaimed. "How-?"

"Oh, come now, Jane, surely you of all people can guess at the potentially destructive force of the bridge," Loki said. "I opened the gate to Jotunheim, then used the powers I hold over ice - the powers that are mine by blood, which are not easy for me to use but remain mine nonetheless - to freeze it open. I knew that if the gate between the realms was open long enough, the force of the bridge would completely obliterate Jotunheim." He paused to shake his head with the remnants of the surprise he had felt at the time. "To my complete surprise, however, my brother came to _stop_ me," he said, his tone one of mild aftershock. "He came after me to _save_ Jotunheim, for reasons I _still_ cannot begin to fathom. After all, he had no reason to think of the Frost Giants as anything other than monsters." He shook his head quickly, as though trying to clear it, then went on, "We argued. I had to goad him into actual combat - which was a first, and came as no small surprise to me." He looked at Jane. "I threatened to harm you," he admitted. "I didn't mean it; I only wanted him to fight me, so I could prove that he was no greater than I." He closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. "We fought. He overpowered me, if only just barely, but there was nothing he could do to save Jotunheim…or at least, so I thought." He opened his eyes again and looked at Jane. "Being unable to close the gate, he took Mjolnir and smashed the bridge with all his might. I tried to stop him, pointing out that if he destroyed the bridge he would never see you again, but he didn't pause…or no, wait, he _may_ have paused, for a _moment_," he amended, a hint of cynicism creeping into his voice. "I think he may have said out loud, 'Forgive me, Jane', but nothing more. He destroyed the bridge. The break caused a massive explosion, which left us both falling towards the hole the destroyed Bifrost left behind, but just in time the All-Father awoke and grabbed Thor, who had in turn grabbed me…well, Odin's staff, which I was wielding at the time, and which I was holding onto." He sighed painfully. "I looked into the All-Father's eyes, and I knew he knew everything I had done, and tried to do…and I saw a cold fury there that told me that he didn't understand. I wanted to explain myself to him. I wanted to make him understand my actions, so that he might look at me favorably for it. But I had little time. So all I said - all I _could_ say - was, 'I could have done it, Father. For you.'" Loki's fists clenched again. "And he looked at me, his gaze colder than any Frost Giant's touch, and he said, 'No, Loki'…and I knew what that meant: that not only could I not destroy Jotunheim, but no longer was I to call him 'father'…no longer was I his son, not that I ever was. He banished me from Asgard with those words…so I allowed myself to fall, as I had nothing left." He gave a humorless smile as he finished, "I should have died, but it seems I fell just in time to pass through the opening to Jotunheim before it collapsed. I have spent my time since then in Jotunheim, seeking a way out - though I was welcomed there, I have no desire to be a Frost Giant, thanks to the All-Father's having raised me."

"They _welcomed_ you?" repeated Darcy, surprised. "Even after you killed their king?"

Loki gave her another humorless smile. "I explained what happened to them, much as I just did to you, if in far fewer words," he told her. "To my surprise, they sympathized with my plight, and forgave me for my crimes against them." He sighed wistfully, turning to the sky once more. "They are a great people," he said, his voice distant. "I have learned a great deal about them over the course of the past year and five days…enough that I wish I could accept a place among them. Sadly, I cannot; the All-Father's influence has corrupted me over the course of the millennia I spent living as his 'son', and though I now know that he could not be more wrong about them, they disgust me, and I would rather die than be one of them."

For a minute, everyone was silent.

"Thank you for telling me," Jane said finally, her tone strangely hollow.

Loki turned to her in surprise, only to see her eyes closed as she fought back tears. "You are not angry?" he asked her. "Thor broke his word to you to save a race he knew nothing of!"

"He did the right thing," Jane said softly. "I'm not upset…that he did it, and…it…it's good to know that he's not staying away because he doesn't want to come back. It's comforting."

Everyone knew that she was trying to convince herself that it was okay more than she was trying to convince anyone else, but no one said anything.

There was another pause.

"So…" Erik finally said, speaking up for the first time since Loki had started telling his story. "Why are you here?"

Loki chuckled mirthlessly. "It seems that fate has a cruel sense of humor," he replied. "I sought a way out of Jotunheim from the moment I arrived there, pledging that I would make my way in whatever realm I first came to…which, it would seem, is this one. This is to be my home now." He turned to the sky again. "It seems my life is one cruel twist of fate after another," he said, more to himself than to the others.

Again, there was silence.

"Do you…Would you like us to help you?" Darcy finally asked.

Loki looked at her. "No," he said. "I've caused you enough trouble as it is."

"Things here are different from what you're used to," Darcy protested. "You're going to have a hard time fitting in here-"

"I am a bit more well-versed in the ways of this realm than my hapless brother was," Loki told her. "I will manage."

"But-!"

"Darcy, if he says he doesn't want our help, don't pester him," Erik said suddenly. He looked between her and Jane. "Come on, girls," he said, "let's go." He turned around and started walking away. Jane followed him, and Darcy, after hesitating for a minute, followed in turn, leaving Loki alone in the middle of the desert…free, but trapped.


	3. Chapter 3

"I fear your brother is not coming," Enchessa said to Yardaff.

"I fear you may be right, My Lady," replied Yardaff, looking, as she was, at the moon that was high in the night sky.

"As I thought…" Enchessa muttered angrily.

It was the middle of the night in Jotunheim, and all of the Frost Giants had gathered outside the palace for Loki's coronation. They had been waiting for hours.

"Please, Lady Enchessa, let us not jump to conclusions," Yardaff begged of Enchessa. "My brother no longer bears any allegiance to the people of Asgard, I am certain of it."

"He is no longer in this realm," Enchessa replied coldly, having just cast a quick locator spell so as to find out whether or not he was.

"That does not mean-"

"It means that I was right about him!" Enchessa exploded. "He has no desire to be one of us! The All-Father has twisted him, turned him against us!"

"Perhaps, but that does not mean that he has _betrayed_ us!" argued Yardaff.

"Lord Yardaff!" called a Frost Giant from the crowd. "What has happened?"

Yardaff sighed, and, ignoring Enchessa, he spoke to the crowd.

"My brother, it would seem, has left Jotunheim," he said to them. "Where he is, no one can say for sure. But I intend to find out," he added, seeing Enchessa about to interrupt. "My brother has shown me a secret passage to Asgard, and I shall travel there now in the hopes of ascertaining his whereabouts."

"A gateway to Asgard?" repeated Enchessa angrily.

"Indeed, My Lady," Yardaff said, turning to her, "and I shall use it now, so as to find my brother. If there is any being who knows where my brother can be found, it is he who sits upon the throne of Asgard."

"The risk is too great," Enchessa declared. "Our crown prince has left us; you cannot go alone!"

"If I go with accompaniment, it will be a hostile gesture," Yardaff replied calmly. "I do not go seeking battle; I go seeking answers. I will request a peaceful meeting with the king." Seeing that Enchessa was about to argue some more, he added, "I will show you - _all_ of you -" he added, turning to the crowd, "where this gateway can be found. If I do not return within a day's time, you may come after me." He drew himself up proudly. "However, for now, I go alone, for the safety of all of us. As the only one of royal blood here in Jotunheim, it is my responsibility to risk my life for the sake of my people, and that is what I intend to do." And with that, he walked away in the direction of the gate Loki had shown him a year ago.

When he got there, all of Jotunheim was following in his wake. He picked up Loki's helmet and lifted it for all to see.

"This was once my brother's crown," he told them. "He left it here to mark this passage, and the fact that it remains bodes well for our kind." He looked to the sky, oriented himself, and activated the gate.

"Farewell, my people!" he called over the roar of the opening bridge. "I shall return shortly!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Guys, I feel bad about just leaving him like that," Darcy said.

She, Jane, and Erik had been walking back to camp for the past five minutes. Now, Darcy stopped, unable to keep going.

Erik and Jane stopped with her. Jane was silent, still processing the fact that Thor wasn't coming back, but Erik sighed, somewhat irritated.

"He _wants_ us to help him," he told Darcy. "That's why he told us that whole sob story."

"Then why wouldn't he just say so?" Darcy countered.

"Because he doesn't know how," Erik replied. "Tricking people into thinking things are their idea is what he does."

"You don't know him," Darcy argued.

"I know the myths," Erik replied. "He's Loki the Trickster. Manipulation is his thing."

"Myths are _based_ on facts," Darcy said. "They're not _actually_ facts."

"Obviously, they're a lot more true than people give them credit for," Erik replied. "I mean, he already admitted to manipulating everyone in his world when he told his story."

"_His_ world?" Darcy repeated. "Erik, he doesn't _have_ a world! Weren't you listening?"

"Darcy, Loki is the embodiment of mischief and lies," Erik said, "and I will not have that living with us. Thor was one thing, but this-"

"You didn't like Thor at first either!" Darcy protested. "You were wrong about _him_!"

"I didn't believe that he was the God of Thunder," Erik replied. "I thought he was just some nut job. I was wrong, and that makes a difference. With Loki, it's different."

Darcy shook her head. "I'm not leaving him like that, no matter who he is," she said. "He's been picked on and treated unfairly more than enough." Before Erik had even opened his mouth to protest, Darcy turned around and walked back to where they had left Loki.

~o~

Loki hadn't moved an inch from where he had landed. He sat on the sand, gazing at the sky. He could just barely discern Jotunheim beyond the stars from where he sat.

_Earth_. Of course he would end up _here_. Of all the places he could have gone, he had to wind up in the only other place inhabited by a race that would judge him for things far beyond his control. Why couldn't he escape this? Was he just doomed to be an outcast, no matter what? Why couldn't he _belong_ somewhere…?

Though he was deep in his reverie, he didn't start when he heard the footsteps.

"Loki!"

"Hello, Darcy," Loki said without turning around. He smiled to himself; he had known she would come back.

"How did you know it was me?" asked Darcy as she walked over to him and sat down cross-legged next to him.

He turned his head to look at her. "Jane is coming to terms with the fact that she will never see my brother again, and Erik doesn't seem to like me," he replied. "Who else could it be but you?"

Darcy smiled and nodded as Loki turned his gaze back to the night sky.

There was a pause.

"Erik says you only told us your story to trick us into helping you," Darcy said at last.

Loki chuckled. "'Loki the Trickster'," he said, almost to himself. "Even the people of Jotunheim know that there is a realm in which I go by that title." He turned to look at Darcy again. "Erik is wise to not trust me so readily as you," he told her.

"So…you _were_ trying to trick us?" Darcy asked, surprised.

"Not 'trick'," Loki corrected her. "'Trick' implies that I was lying, which I was not. 'Manipulate'…well, perhaps a bit. No more than is normal by the standards of your kind, though."

Darcy considered this for a minute. "Well, if it's true, it's true," she finally said, "and I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Thank you," Loki said, looking back at the sky.

Darcy hesitated. "It was…really mean, what your dad did to you," she said.

"Which one?" he asked, turning to her again and raising an eyebrow, repeating her words from earlier.

She laughed. "Odin," she answered. Then she sighed, and her smile faded. "It wasn't right for him to treat you like that," she said.

Loki nodded. "It seems my brother's arrogance may be rooted in his blood," he said.

Darcy nodded back. "I mean, the least he could have done was told you," she said.

"Indeed," Loki agreed. "I asked both him and Mother - the queen - why he hadn't, and they both said that he had been trying to protect me…which I doubt. As if he cared at all about me…"

"It sounds like he was trying to protect _himself_," Darcy said. "I mean, you _did_ kinda overreact when you found out."

Loki chuckled again, then sighed, his gaze once more turned heavenwards. "I suppose I did," he admitted, "if only just. Attempting to kill Thor was crossing a line, I will admit. After all, it was not _his_ fault that Father judged us based on blood before judging us as people. Not to mention that telling the Destroyer to wreak havoc was crossing a very _big_ line; I am unsure what I was even thinking in that respect." He sighed. "I may have tried to kill my brother out of envy, though," he confessed, "not just concern that he might return. After all, since blood seemed to mean so much to Odin, the only way I could be superior to Thor was if Thor was dead."

"I think Odin might have looked down on you for _that_, if Thor _had_ died," Darcy commented.

Loki smiled humorlessly. "Perhaps," he admitted. "To be honest, I'm not quite certain what I was thinking in that respect, either. Perhaps I wasn't thinking at all."

"That's understandable," Darcy said. "I mean, it's bad enough when you're prejudiced against for what you look like or where you come from; to not even be told about it is…well, it's not fair."

Loki nodded, and there was silence again for a minute.

"About these freezer people," Darcy finally began.

"Frost Giants," Loki corrected.

"Whatever," Darcy said. "You said you'd been brought up to think they were monsters, but now you know they're not…?"

"On Asgard, the story of the war between the Asgardians and Frost Giants tells of how the Frost Giants tried to take over the nine realms, and the Asgardians were the only ones powerful enough to stop them," Loki explained. "In Jotunheim, though, the story runs that it was the _Asgardians_ who tried to take over the realms, and the _Frost_ _Giants_ who were the only ones powerful enough to fight back. Neither side contests that the Frost Giants lost, but the Frost Giants believe that Odin's predecessor was the one who started taking over the realms, and he died and was succeeded during the course of the war, long after everyone had forgotten what started the quarrel. Personally, knowing what I know of the people of Asgard, and what I now know of the people of Jotunheim, I am more inclined to believe the Frost Giants' version of the story."

"Whoever wins the war writes the history books," Darcy said.

Loki smiled and nodded.

There was silence between them for a minute.

"The Frost Giants have a system of equality among them unheard of anywhere else," Loki finally went on. "No one is looked down on in Jotun society…_no_ _one_, not even females. Even those of royal blood do not look down on the commoners. It's really quite something."

"Sounds like your dream world," Darcy commented.

Loki smiled. "Indeed it is," he said. "If only I could accept a place there…"

"That's the _really_ bad thing about what your dad did to you," Darcy said. "I mean, it's one thing to be mean to you, but to make you hate the people you belong with, too…"

Loki nodded again, and there was another pause.

It was Darcy's turn to sigh. "You _can_ come stay with us, no matter what Erik says," she told Loki. "At the very least, let us help you get used to our culture before you go off on your own." She paused, then added, "Or at least get a change of clothes. No one's going to take you seriously if you're dressed like _that_." She stood up.

Loki smiled to himself. "For one who claims expertise in politics in a world where politics is essentially a competition to see who can come up with the prettiest lie, you're not very good at this," he said to her.

"At what?" Darcy asked, confused.

"Manipulation," Loki answered, still not standing. When Darcy didn't respond, he chuckled. "Come now," he said, "you think I can't tell what you really want from me? You're really quite transparent."

"I don't…What are you talking about?" Darcy asked.

Loki stood up at last and turned to face her. "You are envious of Jane," he said. "If she can have one whom your ancestors viewed as a god for her mate, why can't you? Besides which, you find me attractive." His smile was untranslatable. "You wish to _use_ me," he said.

Darcy blinked several times, unable to respond. "I…That's not…" she stammered, blushing.

"It's quite alright," Loki went on, holding up a hand to stop her broken protests. "If it's all the same to you, I would use you as well. My brother has what _I_ want…so, with your consent, I shall have what _he_ wants. I would call that fair, wouldn't you?"

Darcy blinked with surprise a few more times…then laughed. "All of that aside, you _really_ need to stay with us for a little while," she said when her laughing fit finally passed. "People don't go around saying things like that here."

"They don't anywhere," Loki replied; "I am being honest with you because I have no reason not to…it makes no difference." Then his expression hardened as he added, "And I have been shown more than enough _false_ affection to last me an eternity."

"Oh…uh…Right." Darcy blushed again, and Loki knew she felt guilty that she hadn't thought of that. Really, human minds could be so pliable…

There was a very uncomfortable pause - well, uncomfortable for Darcy; Loki was in his element.

"Well, um, come on," Darcy finally said, "if you're going to stay with us, you, um…"

Loki smiled and nodded, taking a step towards her. "Lead the way," he said.

Darcy nodded sheepishly, then turned and headed back towards camp. As Loki followed her, it occurred to him that what he was doing in order to belong in some way, shape, or form might be a bit underhanded…

_Oh well,_ he thought; _it's not as though being _good_ ever got me anywhere…_


	5. Chapter 5

Yardaff had never travelled between realms before, and the experience was amazing. He could see the many entities of space flash past him as he sped to Asgard, which stood like a beacon of light before him, drawing him in.

With a great roar, he landed on one knee on Asgard. The pseudo-dust cleared quickly, and Yardaff found himself just outside the armory.

Almost before he registered this, he felt it: a strange prickling under his skin, as something deep within the armory called to him…to his _blood_…

_The Ice Casket…_ he thought. He could feel its energy calling to him, drawing him…

Slowly, almost as if in a trance, he turned to face the heavy doors to the armory. He took a step forward…and felt Loki's helmet in his grasp.

Instantly, he returned to his senses. _I am not here to reclaim the Casket,_ he reminded himself; _I am here to find my brother._

Suddenly, a pair of Asgardian guards ran up to him. He turned to face them, holding up one hand in a gesture of peace, as they raised their weapons to attack him.

"I am not here to seek battle," he declared calmly.

The guards paused.

"Is your king available?" Yardaff asked. "If so, please go and tell him that Yardaff Laufeysson requests an audience with him immediately."

The guards looked at each other.

"I come in peace, and seek a peaceful audience with your king," Yardaff repeated, calm but firm.

The two guards nodded at each other wordlessly. Then, one ran off, presumably to report to the king, while the other stepped toward Yardaff and raised his weapon to Yardaff's throat.

Yardaff didn't recoil or flinch. He simply turned his cold, red-eyed gaze on the guard without a word. The guard met his gaze, likewise not flinching.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki and Darcy didn't catch up with Jane and Erik before the latter pair had gotten back to the temporary base they had set up to get ready for Thor's arrival. The place consisted of a few tents in the middle of the desert; in terms of living quarters, they were just a bit less meagre than the trailer that Jane, Darcy, and Erik had been using when Thor had first come to Earth. There was also a large, covered area that served as the common area for dining and such, as well as the portable sections of Jane's lab.

Of course, Erik and Jane were waiting, alone, in the common space. When Loki and Darcy came near enough to see them, Loki noticed that Erik was talking to Jane with one hand on her shoulder, and that Jane was crying.

Of course, it didn't take any effort to figure out what was going on.

"Perhaps we should leave them be?" he suggested to Darcy.

She turned to him. "I understand that Jane's upset about Thor not coming back, but if you're going to be staying with us instead, they're going to have to deal with it, and they're going to have to deal with it _now_," she said firmly, and Loki was actually surprised by her adamance. He knew that whatever there was (or wasn't) going to be between them, she had no reason to be sticking up for him like she seemed to want to do; besides which, from what little he knew of her, she wasn't normally so considerate…

He sighed. "As you say," he said; "they are _your_ friends, after all."

"We're going to be _your_ family," Darcy said firmly.

Loki blinked; this was taking things a bit far, surely? Yes, he wanted to belong somewhere. Yes, he was going to manipulate the three mortals to that end. But _family_? 'Family' was a word that no longer held meaning for him, and he didn't really even _want_ one…

Unable to find a way to put his protests into words, however, he silently followed Darcy to where Erik and Jane were.

"Erik," Darcy said brusquely. "Jane."

Jane looked up, struggling to get herself under control. Erik glanced at Darcy, noticed Loki standing behind her, and immediately directed a glare at the former Asgardian. Loki averted his eyes, wondering if perhaps this was a mistake.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Erik asked Darcy sharply.

"Loki's going to be staying with us," Darcy said firmly.

"No, he's not," Erik snapped. "I told you, I don't want him here-"

"He has nowhere to go!" Darcy protested.

"I shan't stay if it would displease you," Loki inserted before the argument could get out of hand; "I have no desire to force myself upon you."

"Since when?" Erik sneered, clearly being cautious not to fall for Loki's manipulative ways.

Loki bowed his head. "You are wise not to trust me," he said, "and I do not blame you. However, I mean you no harm. I can say nothing to convince you of this, and I know my past actions indicate that my words are dishonest in this respect, but I would prove my good intentions, if given the chance - and a chance is all I ask." _As always,_ he added to himself. Really, that _was_ all he ever wanted…

"He can't stay with us," Erik said stubbornly, addressing Darcy. "We have no place for him anyway-"

"He can stay with me," Darcy said firmly.

Loki looked at her, surprised. "Did you not have a place waiting for my brother to stay?" he asked.

"He was…going to stay with me," Jane said softly.

Loki turned to Jane, even more surprised. This was not at all what he had expected, not even of mortals.

Darcy laughed at him.

He turned on her slowly. "Are you laughing at me?" he asked coldly; he had suffered many insults in his life, but _no_ _one_ had _ever_ _laughed_ at him.

She caught herself. "Sorry," she said; "it's just…you should have seen the look on your face just now. It was…" He glared at her, and she shrank back. "…funny," she finished timidly.

He shook his head. "I have no place here," he spat, and he turned and walked away. "As usual!" he added loudly, not turning back.

"Hey, wait!" Darcy called, and he heard her run up behind him. "Hey, I'm sorry!"

He turned back to face her. "I have suffered many insults over the course of my life," he told her in a low voice, "but I have _never_ been _laughed_ at."

She blushed. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm really sorry. I…I wasn't trying to insult you, really. People laugh here. It's just…how things work in our culture. You're going to have to get used to things like this. But I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she added honestly.

Loki said nothing.

"Look," Darcy said, "you really _do_ need some coaching in how to deal with our culture if you're gonna throw a temper tantrum every time someone laughs at you. If you're going to live here, you need to stop expecting people to be polite to you…because news flash: humans aren't polite. You _need_ to stay with us, at least for a little while-"

"And by 'us', you mean _you_," Loki commented, raising an eyebrow at her.

Darcy blushed again. "Um…Well…" she stammered.

"Should _I_ be laughing at the look on _your_ face right now?" he asked her, smiling in spite of himself.

She laughed. "Yeah, probably," she replied. She sighed. "Look," she said, "I think you're reading too much into this. When Jane said Thor was going to stay with her, she meant that there's an extra cot set up in her tent for him, and when Erik said we had no place for you, he probably meant he didn't want you anywhere near her."

"Ah, yes," Loki said, remembering, "that's right; he is protective of her."

Darcy nodded. "He basically treats her like his daughter," she said.

"And you?" Loki asked.

Darcy shrugged. "I'm just her side-kick," she replied; "Erik doesn't extend the fatherly attitude towards me, and I don't really care, to be honest." But something about the way she said it made Loki question just how 'honest' she was being.

"I see," he said.

Darcy smiled at him. "I'll have the cot moved," she told him; "you can stay with me - Erik won't bother trying to protect _me_ from you."

"How long will that take?" Loki asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno," she said; "five minutes?"

Loki nodded. "There is…something I would like to do," he said, "and it will take me at least that long. I will return shortly."

He turned back around and started walking away, not giving Darcy time to respond.


	7. Chapter 7

"My Lord!"

The cry rang across the throne room to Thor, who was still trying to see through the cloud that had suddenly enveloped Earth.

Hearing the sound, Thor turned and acknowledged the guard. "What is it?" he asked.

"My Lord," the guard repeated, coming to a standstill, "there is a Frost Giant here!"

Thor's eyes widened with surprise.

"How did it get here?" he demanded.

"I do not know, My Lord," the guard replied, "but he is requesting an audience with you, right away! He says his name is Yardaff Laufeysson!"

_Laufeysson…__I didn't know King Laufey _had_ a son,_ Thor mused.

"Send him in," he ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!" the guard answered with a bow, and he ran off.

Thor sat back down on his throne. Then, after a minute, he called one of his messengers.

"What is it, My Lord?" his messenger asked him when he came.

"Summon Lady Sif and the Warriors Three," Thor told him, "and my father and mother and Gatekeeper Heimdall, if possible. Tell them they are to come here, now."

"Yes, Your Highness!" said the messenger with a dutiful bow, and he ran off.

Moments later, Thor's friends arrived.

"My Lord?" said Lady Sif.

"My friends," Thor said, standing to greet them.

"What is so urgent, My Lord?" asked Hogun.

Thor chuckled in spite of the situation. "My friend, you needn't be so formal with me," he told his friend. "I am still Thor, your friend and battle companion." His smile faded as he answered his friend's question. "It would seem a Frost Giant has found his way to Asgard," he told them.

"A Frost Giant?" exclaimed Volstagg.

"Indeed," Thor said, nodding grimly. "What is more, this Frost Giant claims to be the son of Laufey, and has requested a peaceful audience with me."

"Surely, you did not accept? Lady Sif said angrily.

"I did," replied Thor. Then, over his friends' exclamations, he added, "As king, it is my duty to hold to proper protocol when dealing with those of other realms, including the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. If this one has come in peace, it would be a gross breach of etiquette for me to have him attacked."

"You cannot take risks with those beasts!" exclaimed Fandral.

"I am not taking a risk," Thor replied with a smile. "One Frost Giant is no match for the five of us together; should he prove dishonorable, we can easily overpower him."

Thor's friends said nothing, but their expressions were of worried gravity. Thor walked back up to his throne and sat down, just as Yardaff came in.

Thor and his friends' eyes widened at the sight; being of royal blood, Yardaff was large, even for a Frost Giant (which made Loki's being a runt even more noteworthy), and his facial markings, like bloody slits in his flesh, were as intimidating as his glowing red eyes. Ice formed beneath his feet, clouds of vapor surrounded him continuously, and his gaze was icy enough to freeze a person's heart. In all, Yardaff was a great and terrible specimen.

Thor took a calming breath as Yardaff came to stand before him on his throne, then rose from his seat once more, flanked by his friends.

"Frost Giant, identify yourself, and your reason for coming to Asgard," he commanded. "Your arrival here is a breach of the truce-"

"I hold no value to a truce designed by the wretched Odin One-Eye," Yardaff interrupted, his voice as harsh and chilling as a storm wind on an icy tundra. "My name, as I told your soldier, is Yardaff Laufeysson, and I am here for one simple reason." His facial features sharpened as anger crept into his voice. "Where is my brother?" he demanded.

There was silence.

Thor and his friends glanced between each other; none of them had any idea what Yardaff was talking about.

"Where…_is_ _my_ _brother_?" Yardaff demanded again, raising his voice and speaking even more slowly, with emphasis.

"We know not of whom you speak," answered Lady Sif. "No Frost Giant-"

"_Where is he_?" Yardaff roared. As the confounded group watched, the clouds of vapor around Yardaff grew thicker, and the ice beneath his feet spread toward them. Before any of the warriors could answer, Yardaff lifted Loki's helmet and threw it towards them. It bounced and clattered across the floor, coming to rest at Thor's feet. As Thor and his friends stared at the helmet in awe and recognition, Yardaff demanded, "_Where is Loki Silvertongue_?"

There was silence.

"My brother…" Thor cleared his throat. "My brother is dead."

"He is not _your_ brother, he is _my_ brother," snarled Yardaff, "and what do you mean by saying he is dead?"

"Loki died over a year ago," Lady Sif said, her tone suggesting shock.

Yardaff exhaled slowly and calmed down. "You were not aware, then…" he said softly, almost to himself, his voice going back to being cold and smooth.

"Where...Where did you get this?" asked Thor, gesturing to the helmet.

Yardaff smiled. "My brother has been living with me in Jotunheim for the past three hundred and seventy days," he told them. "He told me he had cast a veil over Jotunheim so that none could see our activities…I understand now that he did that so as to make you believe him to be dead."

"He's…alive?" Thor breathed.

Yardaff nodded.

Just then, Heimdall's voice rang out.

"My Lord!"

Everyone turned to see Heimdall hurrying into the throne room with a haste that was unusual for him.

"My Lord, I thought you would wish to know, the veil surrounding Jotunheim has lifted," he said.

Then, he caught sight of Yardaff.

"Hold, Gatekeeper Heimdall," Thor said, raising a hand to stop Heimdall as he raised his sword. "This Frost Giant has come in peace."

"Gatekeeper," Yardaff said, stepping forward, "you say the veil around my realm has lifted?"

Heimdall hesitated for a minute, then nodded.

"Can you see where my brother has gone?" Yardaff pressed.

"Your brother?" Heimdall repeated, puzzled.

"Heimdall…it seems my brother yet lives," Thor said.

Heimdall's eyes widened. "Of course," he breathed, showing a level of emotion that was unlike him. "I should have known Loki's hand was in that veil…"

"Indeed you should have," Yardaff said. "Now tell me: Where has he gone? He has left Jotunheim."

Heimdall shook his head, slightly in shock. "I cannot say," he replied. "I've not seen him."

Suddenly, everything added up in Thor's head.

"Earth," he breathed.

Everyone turned to him.

"My brother has gone to Earth," he said. "A veil has just been cast over that realm, and…someone from another realm arrived there immediately beforehand."

Just then, Odin came in, in answer to his son's summons.

Yardaff immediately turned on him. "_You_!" he hissed.

"Frost Giant, identify yourself; I do not know you," Odin said formally upon seeing him.

Yardaff bared his teeth, and clouds of icy vapor started concentrating around his body, almost obscuring him. "I am the brother of the one you stole," he said, his words filled with such a cold fury that everyone present felt a little skitter of fear run up their spines, despite being hardened warriors, one and all. "I am the son of our late king, Laufey. My name is Yardaff."

Odin bowed his head slightly. "What is your business here?" he asked, his tone still coldly formal.

Yardaff clenched his fists. "I came here to find my brother, as he has left Jotunheim after a year and five days there," he answered icily. He took a menacing step towards Odin, and immediately, Thor, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and Heimdall readied their weapons. "You are a disgrace, All-Father," Yardaff snarled, his voice colder than a winter wind at the south pole, ignoring the warriors around him. "You are a shameless, despicable wretch. What you have done to my brother is unforgivable." He slashed his hand through the air, throwing a small chunk of ice that shattered on the floor at Odin's feet. "You take him in, call him your son, turn him against his blood-kin, keep him repressed and down-trodden, praise an arrogant, battle-hungry brat over him no matter how hard he works to win your favor, all without even telling him _why_, and when he acts out of desperation to prove himself to you, doing what he was raised to believe was right, you disown and banish him for it?" Yardaff shook his head furiously, the movement barely visible through the thick, icy fog surrounding him. "You disgust me!" he spat. "Your crimes against my brother will never be forgiven by any of my kind!"

"I showed Loki a mercy he did not deserve," Odin said, the coldness of his tone almost matching that of Yardaff. "I had hoped I would be able to purge him of the barbarity of your kind; I was wrong."

"_Barbarity_?" Yardaff exclaimed furiously. "It is _you_, All-Father, who is the barbarian, not us! You know nothing of us, save what you've seen in battle!"

"I know that it is your kind's lot in life to cause trouble for others," Odin replied. "Such was the case with King Laufey, and such was the case with Loki."

"Your very words betray your ignorance!" Yardaff snarled. "It is _you_, All-Father, who caused the troubles of which you speak! You brought all of it upon yourself!"

"Silence!" Odin roared. "You've no right to speak to me in such a way!"

"I've _every_ right, and I would be shaming my ancestors if I did not speak out against you!" Yardaff shouted back. "What you have done is an unforgivable atrocity on its own, but to make it worse, you refuse to even _acknowledge_ it!"

"I will not be-!"

"All-Father!"

Everyone froze. The sound, though audible in the throne room, hadn't come from anywhere on Asgard…and it was a voice none of the Asgardians present had thought they would ever hear again.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki stood alone, having walked far away from Jane's camp to where the secret gate between Asgard and Earth stood. He turned to the sky, lifting the veil surrounding the realm that he had summoned when he had arrived.

"All-Father!" he shouted to the sky. He paused, then smiled nastily, certain Odin was watching and listening. "You thought I was dead, didn't you?" he taunted. Then his fists clenched, and he continued, "Did you feel bad, for killing me?" He shook his head in disgust and fury. "I suppose it is merely wishful thinking on my part to believe that that might even be possible." He took a breath. "Why?" he shouted. "Why did you do this to me? What did I ever do to you, to make you take everything from me? Why did you take me, if my blood disgusted you so much? Why didn't you just kill me? I could have had a _world_! I could have been _happy_! You took me from my home, and you took my home from me - _why_? What gave you the right to do this to me?" He paused, fighting back tears of rage, as he finally unloaded everything raging around inside of him that had been threatening to boil over for more than a year. "I _trusted_ you!" he roared. "I believed you had a _reason_ to favor Thor over me! I _tried_, you know! I tried everything I could think of to earn, if not your favor, then at _least_ your commendation! When working hard to be better failed, I tried to make you see what _he_ was…and even when I succeeded, and you _banished_ him for his arrogance and thirst for battle, did you think any more highly of _me_? Did you consider, for _one_ _second_, that perhaps _I_ could take the throne? No! You decided to sit on your hands and _wait_ for Thor to sort himself out! You would have waited _forever_ before even _thinking_ of looking at me!

"I did not question it, though!" he went on. "I thought you must have seen something in him that I did not, that you had a good _reason_ to praise him despite his faults and look down on me despite my merits! I thought you were judging me _fairly_! After all, you were the _All-Father_, the _wise king Odin One-Eye_!" Loki's voice dripped with mockery as he recited Odin's titles. "And then I found out that it was all because of my blood," he snarled. "I did not _choose_ to be born a Frost Giant! I did not _choose_ to be taken away and raised on Asgard! You hated me for the very reason you took me in! Why? Why did you do this? _Look at me_!" he shouted angrily at the top of his lungs. "See what I've become? See what you've reduced me to? I have no home, no family - nothing! I have _less_ than nothing! You even took my _blood_!" He shook his head furiously again. "What I would give, to be able to accept a place in Jotunheim," he said, gritting his teeth against the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "The Frost Giants are a great people, and I would give anything to be one of them…to _wish_ to be one of them! But when I look at them, all I see are foes, monsters to be slain, even though I _know_ they are a far better people than the Asgardians will ever be…and that is _your_ fault! It's _your_ fault my blood disgusts me, though consciously I would rather be a member of that society than any other!" He broke off again, the effort of fighting back tears of rage becoming almost unbearable.

"The worst part," he finally went on, "is that I do not hate you for what you've done to me. In my heart, you are my father, and I will always love you as such, though I should hate you with every fiber of my being, and though you will never think of me as your son." His eyes narrowed until he was glaring at the sky once more. "But I do hope that you'll pay, for what you've done to me; that someday, fate will be as cruel to you as it was to me…as _you_ were to me. If there is justice in this universe, then one day you will know what it's like to have everything brutally stripped from you!"

"Loki!"

Loki turned to see Darcy hurrying across the desert towards him.

He took a breath, re-burying his pain and anger, and acknowledged her with a nod. "Lady Darcy," he said.

She blushed at the title and gave an embarrassed smile, and Loki in turn felt a bit of embarrassment for addressing her in a way that was not simply polite in her culture. _This _will_ take some getting used to,_ he admitted to himself.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked him.

"Oh, nothing," he replied.

She smiled. "Right," she said sarcastically, "you're just shouting at the sky for no reason."

He smiled back at her, then sighed and turned back to the sky. "Odin One-Eye is all-seeing, all-knowing," he told her; "or, at least, he _can_ see everything, if he chooses to."

"Hey," she said, putting a hand on his arm. For a minute, he was shocked by her boldness, but quickly decided to accept the gesture, as he really wasn't superior to her in any way; at least, not anymore.

He said nothing.

"What your dad did to you was wrong," said Darcy, "but…it's over now. There's no point in shouting at the sky; he couldn't take any of it back, even if he wanted to."

"I am aware of that," Loki sighed, "but I wish…"

"Don't wish," Darcy said. "Just…move on." She gave him a hesitant half-smile. "You're gonna live _here_ now, far away from him. He can't hurt you anymore."

Loki turned to her…and smiled. "It is no longer about _him_ hurting _me_," he told her.

She shrugged. "Well, the point is, you're away from him now," she replied. "Him, and those freezer people-"

"Frost Giants," Loki corrected.

"Whatever," said Darcy. "The point is, you're away from it all now." She took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Come home."

He smiled at her again. "It seems my first impression of you was incorrect," he said; "you're actually quite good at this."

"I'm not trying to manipulate you-"

"Yes you are."

Darcy laughed. "Well, okay, maybe a little," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean I'm wrong, or that I'm lying."

"True," Loki conceded.

They smiled at each other for a minute.

"Come on," Darcy said again, and they walked back to the camp together.

~o~

Everyone was stunned, not least because Loki's rant was mostly new information to most of them.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous roar, and Odin, Thor, Heimdall, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three turned just in time to see Yardaff bellow with rage as ice shards formed around him, then started spraying forcefully in every direction, as Yardaff's anger reached its peak. Everyone quickly ducked for cover, and they all just barely managed to avoid getting punched full of holes as ice daggers shot through the air like bullets.

"_All-Father_!" Yardaff roared at the top of his lungs, turning on Odin and walking towards him, the ice storm caused by his fury finally abating, if only just.

Odin stood and faced Yardaff without flinching.

"See what you've done?" Yardaff shouted at him furiously, his anger somehow still icy despite its intensity. "See what you've reduced him to? My own brother, crown prince of Jotunheim, reduced to shouting prayers for justice to the skies and accepting the consoling touch of a _mortal_ girl! This is an outrage! You have disgraced my brother, my family, and my race through your insolence beyond _any_ chance of forgiveness!" He clenched his fists. "Do not think you will go unpunished for this," he hissed, the cold fury of his voice more terrifying than his outburst had been. "My brother's prayer _will_ be answered. I will ensure it, no matter the cost." With that, he walked over to where Loki's helmet had landed, picked it up, and left the throne room. Everyone was too stunned to even question where he was going. Luckily for them, he went directly back to the isolated gate back to Jotunheim.

Everyone turned to Odin, who met their looks with defensive contempt.

"Father…" Thor finally said.

"I regret nothing," Odin stated bitingly, and he turned and left.

When he left, everyone turned to Thor, who was silent. Seeing his brother shouting with helpless rage had torn at his heart, ripping open further wounds that had only just begun to heal.

"Thor…" Lady Sif finally began softly, stepping towards him.

"Leave me," he hissed, turning away from her and the others.

Lady Sif paused, then nodded sadly, even though Thor couldn't see, and left, Heimdall and the Warriors Three following behind her.

Thor quickly wished he hadn't sent his friends away; being alone made the pain worse instead of better. More than just pain, though, he felt confusion. Who was to blame? Who was the villain - Loki, the Frost Giants, or…his own father?

Try as he might, he could think of no answer.


	9. Chapter 9

When Yardaff returned to Jotunheim, he found that none of the Frost Giants had moved at all.

"My Lord," Enchessa said, making the traditional Jotunheimian gesture of respect, as did all the other onlookers.

"My Lady," Yardaff replied, acknowledging her.

She rose. "You were not gone long," she said; "I presume you found answers?"

"Indeed I did, Lady Enchessa," Yardaff said gravely.

"And?" she pressed.

Still angry, and shocked by what he had seen, Yardaff turned slowly to the crowd that stood before him and Enchessa. "I have seen my brother from the throne room of Asgard," he told them, "and what I saw, I still hardly dare to believe."

"Where is he?" Enchessa asked.

Yardaff sighed angrily. "My brother…has gone to Earth," he said.

There was some muttering among the Frost Giants.

"_Earth_?" Enchessa exclaimed. "Why would your brother go _there_?"

"I know not," Yardaff replied, "but I _do_ know why he left us." He turned back to the crowd. "It seems the All-Father's poison was stronger than anyone could have imagined," he told them; "my brother said we are a great people, and that he would give anything to want to be one of us. Sadly, he cannot; because he was raised on Asgard, when he looks at us, all he sees are enemies, monsters to be slain. We disgust him, though not of his own will." Yardaff paused, then went on, "He does not loathe the All-Father, though he should. He says that in his heart, he will always love Odin as his father, though he knows he should hate him. He is, through and through, one of us - not one of those Asgardian brutes."

"Odin has a lot to answer for," Enchessa said angrily.

Yardaff sighed angrily again. "My Lady, I'm afraid he has more to answer for than that," he said. "I know all this because I saw my brother helplessly shout his pain to the sky, hoping the All-Father would hear him. What's more, he said he hopes the All-Father will know what it feels like to have everything brutally stripped from him." Yardaff's fists clenched, and vapor started forming clouds around him. "I watched my brother, crown prince of Jotunheim, angrily but helplessly shout prayers of justice to the skies, not even thinking they would ever be answered."

Fog started to cover the crowd, as the Frost Giants shared in Yardaff's anger at this injustice.

"And there is one more thing," Yardaff said: "A mortal girl, not even worthy of his presence, came to him and tried to console him…and he accepted her! My own elder brother, crown prince of our realm, reduced to shouting prayers of justice to the skies and accepting the consoling touch of a _mortal_ girl!"

"_Touch_?" exclaimed Enchessa. "How would a mortal girl _dare_ to touch our crown prince? And how far has he fallen, that he would _accept_ it?"

"My thoughts precisely, My Lady," Yardaff said; "and I know only one thing: Odin One-Eye is the one to blame for all of it. Furthermore, when I said as much, he refused to see reason. He does not regret what he did to my brother - he believes it is our kind's lot in life to cause trouble for others."

"The hypocrite!" Enchessa roared, and there was a general sounding of agreement from the rest of the Frost Giants.

"Indeed," Yardaff said. He swept his cold gaze across the crowd. "Odin One-Eye has shamed my brother, my family, and _all_ of our kind beyond _any_ chance of forgiveness, and furthermore, he is proud of it! Do you know what this means?"

Enchessa gasped, as did many of the others in the crowd. He couldn't mean…?

"As Loki Silvertongue has renounced us, I am the one who shall take the throne," Yardaff declared, "and as your new king, I declare…" He conjured an ice blade in his hand and raised it over his head. "Let the war against Asgard resume!"

There was a roar of agreement from the crowd, and many of the other Frost Giants raised ice blades of their own. Enchessa, however, hesitated.

"The Asgardians are too strong for us," she said; "We lost many of our kind to the battle with Asgard's best over a year ago, and many more to the damage that was done to our realm. The Asgardians were always stronger than us, if only just - as it is now, they would crush us. Make no mistake - I do wish to fight them!" she added. "I simply do _not_ see how we could be victorious."

"Ah, Lady Enchessa, you forget one thing," Yardaff said, smiling at her: "We control the only gateway between Jotunheim and Asgard."

Enchessa blinked, looking at Yardaff questioningly.

"The only gate is the one we stand beside now," Yardaff said; "the Bifrost was destroyed, as you'll recall. Furthermore, the Asgardians cannot use this gate - only my brother has the power to sense hidden gateways, and anyone else needs to be shown the gate by someone who has the knowledge - knowledge we will not share with the people of Asgard. In fact, I would not be surprised if only our kind _could_ use these gates, even if they were shown to others. It may well be that Loki's blood, and mine, are what allowed us to use them."

"So _they_ cannot come after _us_," Enchessa said slowly. "Still, _we_ would have to go to _them_, in order to fight."

"Yes," Yardaff said. He turned back to the crowd. "We will train for a time, and if the All-Father sees us doing so, then so much the better, for he will be unable to interfere. Once we are all ready, we will attack Asgard…and my brother will be avenged!"

A roar of agreement sounded through the crowd again.

"I cannot wait," Enchessa said, a hungry gleam in her eyes. "Long have I thirsted for Asgardian blood!"

Yardaff looked at her, surprised. "You don't intend to fight, surely?" he asked. "Rarely, if ever, do our females go into battle."

"There are exceptions in other realms," Enchessa pointed out; "one of Asgard's best is female, and it's as much against their regulations as ours. I wish to fight. I wish to make the All-Father pay for what he did to your brother. And who better than me? My skill in magic will be a powerful asset." She smiled. "Besides," she added, "Loki Silvertongue was surprised to discover that there are female members of our race. Perhaps I can stun a few Asgardian fighters with my existence before I kill them."

Yardaff smiled at her in admiration. "If you wish to join us, My Lady, I will not stop you," he said. "Now, let us not waste any more time. We need to train, and we need a plan of action."

The Frost Giants all agreed, and immediately, they all went to work, preparing for the _true_ final battle of the war between Asgard and Jotunheim.


	10. Chapter 10

Loki followed Darcy back to the camp, completely unaware that his prayers were already in the process being answered. Still, shouting his pain to the sky had been rather therapeutic, and he was able to turn his thoughts to more immediate matters…like his imminent pseudo-relationship with Darcy.

Darcy wasn't as clever as Jane, nor was she as pretty…and yet, Loki somehow preferred his current situation to attempting to seduce Jane out of her feelings for his brother. Loki wasn't quite sure what to expect from such a mundane mortal girl, but on the other hand, it seemed that perhaps Darcy could sympathize with him better. Besides which, she _had_ stood up for him - which, all things considered, was a serious risk on her part…

Loki couldn't help but chuckle as it occurred to him that, between Jane and Darcy, it seemed that mortal girls were very willing to take stupid risks for the sake of an attractive male.

"What's so funny?" asked Darcy.

He shook his head slightly. "Nothing important," he said dismissively.

"So, what, you're not even going to talk to me?" she asked, sounding almost hurt.

He chuckled again. "Darcy, I thought we agreed to _use_ each other," he said. "While I may be staying with you, whatever parts we may pretend to play will only be performances." he thought for a moment. "Why?" he asked her. "How far did _you_ think we were going to take this?"

"Uh…" Loki didn't even have to look at Darcy to know she was blushing again. She was too easy to toy with - it was actually already starting to become _boring_.

When she proved unable to say any more, Loki decided to have a bit of mercy. "How far _are_ we going to take this?" he asked her. "I suppose I should give you some say in it, if we are to be using one another equally."

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to help. "Uh…" she said again.

Loki rolled his eyes; it seemed that, in the end, she really _was_ just a stupid mortal…

"Well, um, if we're going to be, like, honest about it, um…I'd like to…uh…go all the way," Darcy said hesitantly.

Loki stopped and put a hand on her arm, forcing her to turn to face him; even in the moonlight, her face was bright red. "Meaning _what_, exactly?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh…" She made a very embarrassed face, and that was all the answer Loki needed.

He wanted to role his eyes and comment on how barbaric her kind must be for her to even consider that. He couldn't resist having a little fun with her, though, so instead he smiled and said, "I think I know what you mean…and I don't see why not."

She blinked.

He let her squirm for a minute, then pretended to realize something and said, "Except for one thing: Are you a maiden?"

"Huh?" Darcy asked.

"Are you a maiden?" Loki repeated.

"Uh…I'm a virgin, if that's what you're asking," Darcy said.

The word 'virgin' meant about as much to Loki as the word 'maiden' meant to Darcy. "Have you ever lain with a man?" he asked her.

"No," she replied.

He smiled again. "Well, _that's_ why not," he said, and he resumed walking.

"What?" she asked, running up beside him.

He sighed. "Darcy, I have done many distasteful things, but not even _I_ would defile a maiden for my own selfish purposes," he told her.

"Defile a…_what_?" Darcy asked, sounding very confused.

He glanced at her. "I get the feeling we've a bit of a language barrier here," he commented.

"More like a diction barrier," Darcy said.

It was Loki's turn to be confused. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"Well, we speak the same _language_ - we just speak it in different _ways_," Darcy explained.

"And you speak as most of your kind do," Loki acknowledged. He thought for a minute, then said, "It would appear that you were right - I _do_ need some coaching, to use your term, in the ways of your kind. A silver tongue may as well be made of lead if it cannot speak the correct language."

"The way you talk _is_ pretty cool, though," Darcy said.

Loki had no idea what to make of that statement. "I'm going to assume that whatever you just said was a compliment," he told her.

"Oh, yeah, it totally was!" Darcy said quickly.

Loki gave an exasperated sigh. "What sort of barrier was it you called this again?" he asked.

"A diction barrier," Darcy said; "'diction' just means 'way of speaking'."

"Well, whatever you call it, we certainly do have it," he muttered, loud enough for her to hear, as they approached the camp.

"You want me to start helping you with that now?" she asked.

"Nay," he replied; "I am weary just now, and would sleep."

She giggled, though Loki wasn't quite sure why. He began to doubt that he could _ever_ fit in on Earth - as, it seemed, was his curse.

Almost as though she could read his mind, Darcy said, "This all probably seems pretty weird to you, but you'll get used to it - I'll help you."

"Thank you," he said, unable to think of any other response.

They reached Darcy's small tent without another word. As had been promised, there were two cots inside, though there wasn't room for much else. Loki got in the one that appeared less used; apparently, he chose correctly, because Darcy didn't make any protests. He closed his eyes and tried to relax enough to sleep as Darcy got in the other cot.

"Good night, Loki," she said.

"Good night, Darcy," he replied automatically.

He lay awake for a few minutes; while lying on something soft in a relatively warm climate was much more conducive for sleeping than what he'd been forced to endure in Jotunheim, this new cruel twist of his fate kept his mind buzzing for a little while longer. Given time to ponder things once more, he could only think about just how far he had fallen, and what he had been reduced to.

The last thought on Loki's mind before he fell asleep was, _How is this my life…?_


	11. Chapter 11

"Father!"

Odin stopped and turned at his son's call.

Thor had decided to go after his father, if only to ask…

"What my brother said just moments ago," he said, running up to Odin; "was it true?"

Odin sighed and looked away.

"Did you truly only favor me over him because he was born a Frost Giant?" Thor pressed.

Odin faced his son again. "I favored you because you were the one more deserving of the throne, and because you were my first-born," he said.

"_Was_ I more deserving?" Thor demanded. "If so, how? I _was_ the arrogant one, the one who sought battle - Loki was more level-headed than I, if nothing else! You did indeed banish me, once my brother's actions led to the argument that forced you to acknowledge that I was not worthy of my title. _Did_ you consider my brother, after that - for even a second?"

Odin closed his eye.

"Tell me the truth, Father," Thor pleaded, lowering his voice; "was blood the only thing that made me more worthy of the throne than my brother?"

"_No_!" Odin said firmly, opening his eye again and meeting his son's gaze.

"And what of my being the first-born?" Thor asked, still distraught. "Am I truly older than he? Or am I only the first-born because he was not truly born of you?"

"Loki _was_ born of me," Odin snapped; "it was _I_ who rescued him, and _I_ who transformed him so that he might live among us! Or so I thought…"

"Father…" Thor closed his eyes and shook his head, too hurt and confused to make any sense of any of it all.

"Odin? Thor?"

Thor opened his eyes and turned in the direction of the voice, just in time to see his mother approaching the two of them.

"Mother," he said.

"I heard that you had summoned me to the throne room, but no one was there," the queen said to him. "Was something the matter?"

For a moment, Thor couldn't speak. He couldn't tell his mother what he had seen, knowing that it would pain her as it had him. She, too, had been deeply hurt by what they had thought to be Loki's death, and they had all only just begun to heal; to rip those wounds open again, as Loki's rant had done to Thor…

"A Frost Giant found his way to Asgard," Odin answered for Thor; "son of Laufey, he claimed."

Thor's mother gasped.

"He meant no harm," Thor said quickly. "He simply wished to know…" Again, he hesitated.

The queen looked between her husband and son, wide-eyed. There was silence; apparently, Odin was also hesitant to break the news.

"Loki…Thor…" Thor's mother shook her head, her eyes still wide; clearly, Odin and Thor's silence was enough to tell her something terrible had occurred. "What happened?" she asked, her tone suggesting that she was afraid to hear the answer.

"Mother…" Thor began, but he stopped and shook his head; he just couldn't do it.

"Thor…?" the queen asked. "Please, tell me what happened. Please."

It was Odin who spoke.

"It appears that Loki still lives," he said, sounding oddly remorseless.

The queen gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, completely shocked.

Thor sighed. "He has spent the past year and five days in Jotunheim, living among the Frost Giants," he told his mother in a hollow voice, the dam broken; "the son of Laufey - the second-born son of Laufey, it would seem - came here seeking answers, as Loki had vanished from Jotunheim sometime earlier today. From the throne room, we discovered that Loki left Jotunheim to travel to Earth, and intends to live there now. He spoke out, addressing Father, and said…that he could not live in Jotunheim because of his upbringing here, with us."

"Why would he not simply return to us?" the queen asked breathlessly.

"Because he is not welcome here, and he knows it!" Odin snarled.

"Odin…" The queen shook her head bewilderedly. "We would welcome him with open arms if he were to return!" she exclaimed. "He is our son!"

"No," Odin said firmly; "he is _not_ our son, and never was. I was a fool to think that a Frost Giant could _ever_, by _any_ power, be made to be more than one of those monsters; I have seen the error of my ways, and renounced him. If he were to return, he would be slain on sight."

The queen began to tremble, her lip quivering, tears welling in her eyes, as Odin spoke. She shook her head manically. "Odin…you know he was distraught when he learned of his origins," she whispered tearfully. "He was not thinking clearly."

"He is a Frost Giant," Odin spat. "I may have transformed him in appearance, but it seems not even I could not purge the barbarity of his nature; his actions were those of a monster, nothing else."

"How can you say that?" the queen exclaimed, beginning to cry. "Loki is our _son_! We _raised_ him!"

"We raised him with false hopes, under false assumptions," Odin said with finality. "I will never again presume to think of him as anything more than one of those barbaric creatures. I do not regret my decision to banish him; I regret only that I was fool enough to take him in in the first place."

Without leaving Thor or the queen any time to respond, Odin turned and marched away.

Thor's mother whimpered.

"Mother," Thor said, turning to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her.

The queen collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "Oh, Loki, my son!" she wailed. "My _son_!"

Thor got on his knees beside her. She threw her arms around him, sobbing on his shoulder. Thor hugged her back, not shedding tears but equally sad.

"Mother…" he said softly, wishing there was something more he could say.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, Loki, wake up!"

Deeply asleep, Loki heard Darcy's voice as though from far away.

"You need to wake up now! I mean, um, unless you have to sleep longer than we do…How long do you people sleep? God, I wish I had some idea what the heck I was doing…"

Loki forced himself to stir, if only to stop Darcy's babbling.

"Oh, okay, you're awake!" she said.

"Your incessant babbling awoke me," Loki grumbled - as he was still half-asleep, he wasn't quite able to manage his typical silver-tongued charm.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry!" Darcy exclaimed. "Did you need to sleep longer? Like, how long are you supposed to sleep?"

Loki didn't answer, instead struggling to overcome the lingering dregs of sleep. It was a full minute before he could open his eyes. He sat up and looked at Darcy, and forced himself to give her a charming smile.

"My apologies," he said; "I'd not slept in over a year. A few hours is typically more than enough; this should not happen again."

"Over a year?" Darcy repeated, confused. "That's not possible! I mean, no one can go a whole year without sleep - they'd die!"

"No _mortal_, perhaps," Loki said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Darcy blinked.

Loki chuckled. "I am not _human_, Darcy," he said. "I thought that much was clear?"

"Uh…" That seemed to be Darcy's default response to _everything_.

Loki closed his eyes and put his hand over his face, exasperated. _Why_ did fate do this to him?

"Well, um, anyway," Darcy said after a moment, "it's time for breakfast. Uh, here."

Loki looked up, and saw that she was holding out to him what he assumed was his new, crude clothes for living among mortals.

He took the bundle silently and looked through the garments. A black shirt and coarse blue pants, both - as he had expected - very crudely made with different but equally flimsy fabrics; black socks, again crude and flimsy, and probably as thick as his boots; and shoes that he guessed were made of about three times as much material as his boots were, but wouldn't even reach his ankles.

"Like I said, no one's going to take you seriously if you're dressed like _that_," Darcy said. "How'd you even _sleep_ in that outfit, anyway?"

He looked at her. "I often do," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "As for your comment about my garments, know that I will feel like a barbarian and a fool wearing these crude, flimsy things that pass as clothes here in your realm."

"And _I'd_ feel like a _freak_ if I dressed like _you_," Darcy said. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked, raising his eyebrow a bit higher.

"Uh…" Darcy said (again). "I just mean, when you're living in a different culture, follow that culture to fit in. I know you're used to fancier stuff than this, but if you're gonna live here, you need to lower your standards."

Loki sighed heavily. "I suppose they will have to do," he conceded.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find anything green for you," Darcy added.

Loki blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you…uh…seem like you like green," Darcy said awkwardly. "I mean, you look good in it."

Loki could only stare at her, bewildered.

"I'll, uh, see you at breakfast," Darcy said, and she turned to go.

Loki found his voice. "Darcy?" he called after her.

She stopped and turned to him. "Yeah?" she asked.

He met her eyes. "Why have you been so kind to me?" he asked her.

"Huh?" she asked in reply.

"Why have you been so kind to me?" Loki repeated. "I would have had you killed, along with all the mortals within _miles_ of this place. I would have had everything destroyed, and all out of envy of my brother. I should have wondered at it last night, but as I said, I'd not slept in over a year, so my mind wasn't as keen as it normally is; now that I think on it, though, no amount of attraction can justify everything you've done on my behalf since I came here, not after all I've done."

Darcy blushed slightly. "I haven't done much," she said, embarrassed.

Loki raised his eyebrow at her again. "You've defied the wishes of your elders, stood up to your closest friends, and taken the risk of approaching me, alone, in the middle of the desert, twice," he pointed out; "I would say you've done a great deal…more than anything I can think of could possibly justify."

"Well…" Darcy shrugged. "I feel bad for you," she said. "I mean, I'm not going to say what you did was no big deal, because it was, but…I don't blame you. I mean, you weren't yourself."

Loki gave her a twisted half-smile. "You do not even know me," he said.

"Well, no, but I know I would've freaked out, too, if it had been me," Darcy said. "I mean, if I found out that, like, Erik not treating me like his daughter the way he does Jane isn't because he knew her dad, or because she's the one who actually knows what she's doing out here, but because I'm secretly a member of a different _species_, I know _I_ would do things I wouldn't normally do."

"Do not presume you can even _begin_ to relate to me," Loki hissed; "you're nothing but an ignorant mortal girl!"

Darcy's jaw dropped, her eyes widening with surprise and hurt. "And you said _Thor_ was arrogant!" she said indignantly.

"I am not arrogant as he was," Loki said defensively, "but _you_ could never _begin_ to fathom what I felt - compared with me, you've not even lived an entire day!"

"Oh, _now_ who's looking down on people for things they can't help?" Darcy countered.

Loki blinked, stunned.

"Just because you live a freakishly long time doesn't make you perfect," Darcy said angrily. "Hundreds of years ago, humans worshipped you as a deity, but you're _not_ a god, are you? You're a _person_! Yeah, you're not human, and yeah, you're super-hot, but you're still a person, just like me! Humans are people, Asgardians are people, those freezer people are people-"

"Frost Giants," Loki corrected automatically.

"Whatever!" Darcy snapped. "The point is, you did what any person would have done in your situation - you freaked out. I'm a person, too, so I _can_ begin to relate. Just because you're thousands of years older than me doesn't make you any less of a person than me. So I get it, and I don't blame you for what you did."

Loki found himself in a position he never would have thought possible: rendered silent by the words of a mortal girl.

Darcy sighed, calming down. "I'll leave so you can change," she said; "when you're ready, please come to breakfast." She turned to go again.

"Who _are_ you?" Loki finally managed to ask bewilderedly before she was gone.

Darcy turned back to him. "Huh?" she asked.

Loki shook his head in disbelief. "One moment, you seem nothing more than a foolish child; the next, you are as silver-tongued as I," he said. "Who _are_ you?"

"Uh…" Darcy said predictably.

Loki shook his head again. "Never mind," he said; "begone."

Darcy looked at him for another minute, then left.

Loki rubbed his hand over his face. _Out-spoken by a mortal girl?_ he thought. _What have I been reduced to?_

And yet…he couldn't help but think of how changed his _brother_ had been by a mortal girl…

Was there, perhaps, something humans had that Asgardians did not?


	13. Chapter 13

Yardaff stood still, watching his people train for battle, as night began to fade from the dark and cloudy Jotun sky.

All of the Frost Giants of Jotunheim - the male Frost Giants, at least - were well-trained in combat. However, thanks to Loki, Yardaff knew something his father had not: Asgardians _always_ attack their enemies head-on - such is simply their battle tactic. The Frost Giants had also always fought thus, but Loki had told Yardaff of his own battle tactics using trickery and illusion, and Yardaff hoped that perhaps a similar tactic could be developed for all of his people. Given that Asgardians were superior only in terms of brute force, such a tactic would ensure victory for Jotunheim. _And my brother,_ Yardaff thought.

At the very least, some practice in countering head-on attacks was sorely needed by all the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Many of them would still die - that was all but certain - but if they could out_wit_ their physically superior enemies in battle, they might stand a chance…

"Prince Yardaff."

"Lady Enchessa," Yardaff said formally, turning to her and giving her the typical Jotun gesture of respect, which she returned.

She stood and walked up beside him. He turned around, and they both looked out on the training masses.

"It is fortunate that your brother gave us insight into the battle tactics of the Asgardians," Enchessa said. "Although, we always should have known it - Asgardians are arrogant warriors, who care only for brute force."

"Indeed," Yardaff said, only half-listening.

There was a pause.

"What is on your mind, My Lord?" Enchessa finally asked, noticing that the Jotun prince was deep in thought.

"Many of our people will die if we go to war," Yardaff said. "No matter how well we prepare, that is inevitable."

"If we are prepared enough, Asgardian casualties will far outnumber ours," Enchessa said, sounding very pleased at the thought.

"Perhaps…" Yardaff said slowly.

"We cannot allow your brother to go unavenged," Enchessa reminded Yardaff.

"No, we cannot," Yardaff agreed. "Still, all of this is due to the impudence of a single Asgardian." He turned to her. "Odin must pay in blood for what he did to my brother," he said, "but there is no true need for anyone else to suffer. I cannot help but wonder if there may be another way…"

"What do you suggest?" Enchessa asked, somewhat mockingly. "Politely _asking_ the All-Father to surrender himself?"

Yardaff hesitated, then decided to tell her his thought.

"Both my father and the All-Father agreed to a truce between our realms because they understood the devastating consequences of war," he said; "perhaps, given that we would spare the rest of his people, the All-Father could be persuaded to surrender himself to us, with no need for bloodshed."

"The All-Father is a stubborn, arrogant old fool," Enchessa spat. "He would not surrender himself out of remorse for his despicable treatment of your brother."

"No, he would not," Yardaff agreed; "however, perhaps for the sake of his people, he might be willing…" He sighed. "With my father dead, and my brother unable to live among us because of the All-Father's curse, the duty of ruling Jotunheim falls to me," he said to her. "I am to be king of Jotunheim; nothing remains except my coronation, which is little more than a formality. I must be careful with my decisions, for our people are _my_ responsibility. Any action that would preserve Jotun lives should be attempted first, and war should only be a last resort."

"You told us how the All-Father showed no remorse for the atrocity he committed," Enchessa said.

"My Lady, I am fully aware that the All-Father must pay with his life for what he did to my brother, and do not contest that for a moment," Yardaff said firmly; "I simply feel that alternatives to war should be given a chance first, for the sake of our people. I…believe I was too hasty, in declaring war."

"It is your decision, My Lord, what course of action we should take," Enchessa said respectfully. "However, expecting the All-Father to surrender himself is little more than madness; no matter what happens, we _must_ be prepared for war with Asgard."

"Agreed," Yardaff said, turning to look out once more at the masses of gray figures attempting to learn to outwit attacks of brute force.

"You should be training yourself, Your Highness," she added.

"I am aware of that," Yardaff said; "however, a course of action that will not cost any of our kind's lives is something that I must determine. As king, that is my duty."

"As is choosing a second-in-command of your army," Enchessa commented.

"That is no difficult task," Yardaff said dismissively; "Krunagh is to head the army, under my command."

Enchessa turned to Yardaff. "Not I?" she asked indignantly.

Yardaff turned back to Enchessa, his glowing red eyes meeting hers steadily. "My Lady, I do not doubt your abilities, nor your strength," he told her; "however, Krunagh has experience - he served as general under my father in the old days of war, and is still a very capable fighter. I mean you no disrespect, I assure you."

Enchessa's eyes still burned with indignation, but her face was expressionless as she knelt in the traditional Jotun gesture of respect. Yardaff returned the gesture, and she stood and walked away without a word.

He watched her go. He couldn't really afford to be distracted from his duties, but Enchessa had always been his heart's desire. He all but worshipped her for her beauty, her intellect, her skill in magic…but she had always treated him with cold aloofness, as though he was beneath her. She treated everyone else likewise - she was very proud. Despite that, Yardaff had always dreamt of one day earning her favor - she would be his queen, there was no doubt about that, but as things stood, it would only be because she would have no choice in the matter, which was not the way Yardaff wanted it to be…

Catching himself, Yardaff shook his head and forced Enchessa out of his mind, if only for the time being; his realm was on the brink of war, and he needed to focus on his duties. If only he could find a way to take Odin One-Eye's life without sacrificing any of his people…


	14. Chapter 14

After several minutes of struggling, Loki walked out of Darcy's tent dressed as a lowly mortal. He had temporarily worn human clothes once before, but they had been his typical clothes charmed to appear as they would have if they had been designed by humans; this was something else entirely, and Loki was very uncomfortable.

_How is this my life?_ he wondered again as he walked to the space where he had spoken with Erik and Jane the previous night.

As he had anticipated, the mortals were eating. The meal was rather small - a far cry from the feasts so commonly held on Asgard, but also far better than what he'd had to endure in Jotunheim. Resignedly, and also strangely nervously, Loki joined them.

"There you are!" Darcy said, smiling at him. "You look good."

Loki gave no response to this patronizing comment, sitting down beside her silently.

There was an awkward pause. Erik glowered at Loki but said nothing; Jane seemed like she didn't even notice him, or anything else around her.

Resigned to the inevitable, Loki took a plate and helped himself.

"Um…Are you gonna eat, like, ten tons of food in one sitting?" Darcy asked.

Loki chuckled. "I am not my brother," he said. "My brother is a warrior and a show-off, and does everything in excess."

"Aren't _you_ a warrior?" Darcy asked, sounding confused.

"Nay," Loki said; "_I_ am a spellcaster - I have much more appreciation for subtlety."

"A spellcaster?" Darcy asked. "You mean you can do magic?"

"Yes," Loki said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Why does that surprise you? By the standards of your kind, _Mjolnir_ is magical, yes?"

"'Magic is just science we don't understand yet'," Jane quoted softly, sounding distant.

Everyone turned to her.

"Thor said that on Asgard, science and magic are one and the same," Jane added, even more softly and sadly, still not looking up at any of them.

Loki sighed. "For what it's worth, my brother did care for you - probably still does," he told Jane. "I know he would return to you if he could." He smiled slightly. "He's probably watching you from the throne of Asgard right now…praying that I don't harm you."

Jane gave something between a sob and a laugh, and Loki felt oddly better. He turned to Erik, whose glare had grown lethal, and added firmly, "Though he need not worry; I mean you no harm."

Erik said nothing.

Loki met Erik's eyes for a few moments, then turned to his food when it was clear Erik wasn't going respond. He sighed resignedly, picked up his fork, and took a bite of eggs.

_Not bad,_ he thought. Like the appearance of the meal, it was a far cry from the standards on Asgard, but much better than Jotun food. It wasn't _delicious_, but Loki decided that it wouldn't be a _terrible_ thing if he had to eat like this for the rest of his long life…

There was a somewhat tense silence for a minute. Then, Darcy said to Loki, "So, uh…could you show us a trick?"

"A _trick_?" Loki repeated, raising his eyebrow at her (and reflecting that he seemed to be doing that a lot).

"Well, like, a magic trick, you know?" Darcy said.

"If you mean a _spell_…" Loki said.

"Yeah, sure, a spell, whatever," Darcy said. "Show us!"

Loki stared at her. _What happened to the girl who out-spoke me mere minutes ago?_ he wondered. Darcy seemed very inconsistent to him just then…

"_Please_?" Darcy begged.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. "Oh, very well," he said. He set down his fork, sat up, looked at Darcy, and summoned a dozen or so shadow-sprites, all looking at Darcy.

Darcy's eyes widened. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed excitedly, looking at the thirteen or so Lokis in front of her. "That's so cool!"

Loki waved his hand and banished the shadow-sprites…leaving him standing a few feet behind where he had been sitting.

"What the…?" Darcy looked between Loki and his seat, surprised. "How did you…?"

Loki just chuckled.

Darcy smiled at him. "Okay, how'd you do that?" she asked.

Loki smiled back. "Oh, it's just a trick," he said dismissively, walking back over to the table and sitting down again.

Darcy thought for a second, then said, "Okay, I may not be a _physicist_ like Jane here, but I know that if magic is just science we don't understand, there has to be an explanation for what you just did."

"Just when I think there's no hope for you, you go and say something that impresses me," Loki commented dryly.

"So explain it," Darcy said.

Loki sighed. "I cannot explain how the spell itself is _cast_ - it's a matter of manipulating forces through sheer will in a way that members of your race simply aren't capable of," he told Darcy; "as for how I switched places with one of my shadow-sprites…Well, 'shadow-sprites' is a bit of a misnomer, as they are a great deal more than shadows. You see, there can only be one of me - I have but one body - and therefore, when I summon multiple images of myself, only one of them _can _be me, and the rest _must_ be illusions; however, any one of them _could_ be the real me, until it interacts with something in its surroundings, such as if it's touched. Until examined, there is nothing determining which one of them is me, and I can decide, at any time, whether an examined shadow-sprite is me or not. Does that make sense?"

"It's like superposition in quantum physics," Jane said unexpectedly; "unless observed, a particle of radioactive material is both decayed and not decayed - it exists in both states, until something proves one way or the other."

"It is somewhat like that, yes," Loki said, nodding at her.

There was a pause.

"You lost me," Darcy said at last.

It took an enormous amount of willpower for Loki to not sigh and rub his hand over his face in exasperation.

How_ is this my life…?_

~o~

After breakfast, Darcy quickly pulled Loki away from Jane and Erik, saying she wanted to start teaching him how to talk. As he followed her, he chuckled.

"It's all a competition to you, isn't it, Darcy?" he commented.

"Huh?" she asked, sitting down at another, smaller table, some distance away from the other two.

Loki chuckled again. "Jane helped Thor - took his side right from the beginning - and in the end, they fell in love, and Jane got to kiss a god," he said. "You think if you help me, you might have a similar outcome; except that, since I've nowhere to go, _your_ story might have a happier ending."

"But I don't _need_ to do that, do I?" Darcy said, apparently confused. "I thought we were going to use each other."

Loki's smile faded. "After what you had the nerve to suggest last night, I no longer have _any_ desire to use you," he told her darkly.

"What did I say?" Darcy asked.

Loki rolled his eyes. "When I asked you how far you had hoped we would take things for the sake of using each other, you implied something vulgar and barbaric," he replied, still unkindly. "The fact that you would have the nerve to presume something so shameful utterly disgusts me. _You_ disgust me."

Darcy blinked. "Look," she said, "like I said, if you're gonna live here, you need to lower your high-and-mighty standards."

"Lower my standards, yes," Loki said; "allow myself to be reduced to such vile and primitive things, no. However 'high-and-mighty' they may be by _your_ standards, I do have scruples."

"'Scruples'?" Darcy repeated mockingly. "What made what I might have thought last night so much more amoral than, say, sending a giant invincible robot that shoots huge lasers to destroy an entire town?"

Loki just barely managed not to flinch. "By _your_ logic, I was not to blame for that," he pointed out.

"Hey, don't use my words against me!" Darcy exclaimed.

Loki couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're asking _me_ not to use your own words against you?" he asked her, still laughing. "_Me_? '_Loki the Trickster_'?"

"Well…that just means you're a _liar_, doesn't it?" Darcy asked, apparently confused (again).

Loki managed to get ahold of himself and shook his head. "_Amateurs_ manipulate people with lies," he told Darcy; "a true master of manipulation always stays as close to the truth as possible. After all, the truth is a great deal more difficult to refute than a lie."

"So that's how it works, huh?" Darcy said, almost thoughtfully.

"Yes," Loki replied. "Did I not make that clear last night?"

"Oh, yeah," Darcy said sheepishly.

Loki looked at her for a moment. "Your manipulation of me last night was…entirely unintentional, wasn't it?" he finally said, making it more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," Darcy said.

Loki sighed. "Well, you have _potential_, at the very least," he said, if somewhat condescendingly.

"Could you teach me how to do it?" Darcy asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "I teach you the art of manipulation, and you teach me to speak as your kind do?" he asked. "I suppose that's a fair exchange."

"Cool!" Darcy said, smiling.

"You've used that word multiple times, in a way I do not understand," Loki commented. "Perhaps, if you are to teach me to speak as mortals do, you should begin with that?"

"Uh, before we get to that, I have a question," Darcy said: "Why do you call us 'mortals'? I mean, you're not immortal either, are you?"

Loki chuckled. "Darcy, I've lived over two millennia, and I shall live many more," he said; "but yes, one day, I will die. Such is the way of life."

"So what makes us humans more mortal than you?" Darcy asked.

"Well, members of your race live for, what, a single century?" Loki asked.

"Usually not even that long," Darcy answered.

"By our standards, you die in your infancy," Loki explained; "you die before you can even _begin_ to comprehend the more subtle forces around you."

"Meaning…?" Darcy asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, for example, the spell with which I summon my shadow-sprites," Loki said; "as I told you, spells are cast through the manipulation of surrounding forces that your kind simply cannot use. I myself was unable to _begin_ to learn to use magic until I'd lived a full _five_ centuries."

"So we're 'mortal' because we don't do magic?" Darcy asked.

"You're called 'mortals' because you are too short-lived to ever be _able_ to use magic," Loki said. "Magic requires an intimate familiarity with the universe that requires much more time than your kind even manages to live."

"Okay…" Darcy said slowly.

Loki couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Do _not_ tell me it's beyond your comprehension," he said exasperatedly. "I couldn't have worded it more simply."

"Funny you'd say that," Darcy said; "that's your problem."

"My problem?" Loki repeated questioningly.

"The reason people around here are gonna laugh at you if they hear the way you talk right now is because you're too formal," Darcy told him. "You need to use simpler words."

"How so?" Loki asked.

"Well, like that," Darcy said.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked, getting confused.

"And that," Darcy said. "You can't talk like that here."

"You've said that repeatedly, yet you've given me no example of how I _should_ speak," Loki said, exasperated.

"Okay, you want an example?" Darcy asked, sitting up. "Let's start with the sentence you said just now. Here's how someone here would say it: 'You keep saying that, but you haven't told me how I'm _supposed_ to talk.'"

"A rather crude and blunt way of wording things," Loki commented.

"Yeah, well, that's how people talk here," Darcy said.

Loki just stared at her.

She shrugged. "Hey, you said you wanted my help," she pointed out.

Loki sighed. "Very well," he said.

"You mean 'Okay.'" Darcy corrected.

"I'm sorry?" Loki asked.

"Don't say 'Very well.' Say 'Okay,'" Darcy explained. "Also, don't say things like 'I'm sorry?' or 'I beg your pardon?' - just say something like 'What?' or 'Huh?'"

Loki shook his head. "This will take a great deal of getting used to," he said; "the way your kind speaks is absurd."

"Okay, you know what? I'm just going to start translating the stuff you say into normal talk," Darcy said. "Here's what you should have said just now: 'This'll take some getting used to; you people talk weird.'"

"_What_?" Loki asked, bewildered.

"Oh, there you go, you're getting it," Darcy said with a smile.

"_No_, I mean-" Loki broke off and rubbed his hand over his face, taking a moment to compose himself. "'You people talk weird'?" he finally repeated, looking at Darcy again. "Is that even _supposed_ to make sense?"

Darcy shrugged. "Not if you think about it literally," she replied. "It's a figure of speech."

Loki just turned away and put his hand over his face. "I will _never_ become accustomed to this," he muttered; "not even if I have my sentences corrected for the rest of my long life."

"Darcy."

Loki looked up to see Erik standing there, looking at Darcy and completely ignoring him.

"Come on, Darcy," Erik said; "we're packing up, and you have to help."

"Packing up? But it took us a whole day to set up all this stuff in the first place!" Darcy exclaimed. "Can't we just, like, stay here for a little while?"

"There's no point," Erik said. "Besides, Jane says we're going back to the lab, so we're going."

Loki stood up. "Perhaps I could assist you?" he asked Erik. "You _did_ come all this way on _my_ behalf, after all, regardless of whether or not it was intentional."

"Translation: 'Can I help, since I'm the reason you came here in the first place?'" Darcy corrected.

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. "_Yes_," he said; "that."

Erik hesitated.

Loki chuckled. "Come now, what harm could I possibly do?" he asked Erik, a bit mockingly. "I only wish to help."

"'Why not? I just wanna help,'" Darcy translated.

Erik looked at Darcy questioningly.

"I'm just helping him," Darcy clarified.

_And if you continue to "help" me in such a manner, I may just have to kill you,_ Loki very much wanted to say. He held his tongue, though; after all, he _had_ asked for it, more or less.

Erik sighed. "Fine," he said to Loki, "you can help. But no funny business, okay?"

"You have my word," Loki promised.

Erik nodded and walked away.

Loki turned to Darcy. "'Funny business'?" he asked, puzzled.

"He just means don't do anything bad," Darcy explained.

"Ah," Loki said, nodding. "Of course."

"And your reply should have been, 'Okay,'" Darcy added. "'You have my word' is too formal."

Loki sighed. "Just show me what I must do to assist you," he said exasperatedly.

"'Just show me how to help,'" Darcy corrected, walking past Loki to follow Erik.

"This is growing irritating rather quickly," Loki said, following her.

"'This is really getting old,'" she corrected him. Then, as if that wasn't infuriating enough, she glanced back at him and briefly gave him a mocking smile.

_I _very much_ wish I did not need you,_ Loki thought angrily…

~o~

There weren't many developments in the following months.

On Earth, Jane, Erik, and Darcy moved back to Jane's lab, and Loki went with them. They gave him a place to sleep, well away from the three of them, for which he quickly became grateful. Her hopes of seeing Thor again dashed, Jane resumed her previous research, though she wasn't quite as earnest as she had been before. Darcy, quickly realizing she couldn't really do much to teach Loki how to talk besides correcting his sentences all the time, started trying to teach him things about human culture that he would need to know when he went off on his own (there was a _lot_ to cover). Erik slowly came to accept Loki, if not entirely trust him. Loki himself started to get used to living among mortals, though he still reflected sometimes on how far he had fallen since he had learned of his origins.

In Jotunheim, the Frost Giants continued to ready themselves for war. Yardaff and Krunagh also worked on trying to find a way to resolve things diplomatically, though it was unanimously agreed that nothing short of Odin's death would be enough to avenge Loki.

And on Asgard, Thor, Heimdall, and Odin all watched the proceedings of the other realms, completely helpless to intervene anywhere.


	15. Chapter 15

~Ten Months Later~

"It's time," Yardaff said. He held Loki's helmet in his hands - all that was left of his brother. This was all for him. For Loki.

"It is," Krunagh agreed. His voice was deep and rough, even for a Frost Giant. "It's time to give the All-Father one last chance to admit to his wrongdoing."

"I hope he does," Yardaff said. "It would be a shame, to have to go to war - for so many more innocents to lose their lives because of him."

"The All-Father may be a fierce warrior, but he does not _seek_ war," Krunagh said. "I am…uncertain, of how he may respond to our request."

"If you cannot be certain, there is no one who can," Yardaff said; "not many of our people remain who lived and fought in the old days of war." He paused, then added, "I am glad to have you join me in this; my last exchange with the All-Father was…far from diplomatic."

"As I served your father in the great war long ago, so too shall I serve you, My Lord," Krunagh said.

"I thank you, friend of my father," Yardaff said formally, setting his brother's helmet down on the frozen stone. "Let's go."

The young, inexperienced prince, backed by the old, battle-scarred general, stepped into the gate between Asgard and Jotunheim. Just before they left, however, a call rang out across the frozen wasteland.

"Stop!"

Just as she had when Yardaff had first agreed to rule side-by-side with Loki, Enchessa intervened at the last possible moment, sprinting to the gate faster than should be possible through her skill with ice magic.

"My Lady," Yardaff greeted her respectfully.

Enchessa joined the two male Frost Giants at the gate site without pretense. "I will join you, My Lord," she told Yardaff firmly. "I wish to see these monsters that parents tell their children stories about at night with my own eyes."

"My Lady, there is no need-" Yardaff began.

"I will come!" Enchessa said, in a tone that left no room for argument.

Yardaff sighed and gave her the traditional Jotun gesture of respect. "As you wish, My Lady," he said.

She returned the gesture, and the three Frost Giants left for Asgard.

~o~

The three Jotun ambassadors, for lack of a better term, came to Asgard just outside the armory. As had been his experience last time, Yardaff immediately felt the call of the Ice Casket.

"Do you feel that?" he asked the other two.

"The Ice Casket," Enchessa said softly.

"Remember, we are not here to reclaim it," Yardaff said to her; "not yet."

Before Enchessa could respond, two guards burst through the doors, weapons at the ready.

Yardaff held up a hand. "We have not come to fight," he told them. "We would speak with the All-Father, and with your king - _speak_, nothing more."

"Though if we _were_ here to fight you, you would stand no chance, as you are outnumbered, not to mention powerless compared with us," Enchessa added mockingly.

"My Lady, please," Yardaff begged, turning to her; "behave yourself. We've come to resolve this diplomatically - there is no need for threats or condescension."

"I do not fear these creatures," Enchessa sneered. "Look at them! Small, weak, ugly little-"

"_Silence_," Yardaff commanded. He turned back to the two guards. "We come in peace, and would speak with your king and the All-Father," he told them. "Please grant us an audience with them, if you can."

The two Asgardians looked very unsure of themselves. Three powerful Frost Giants - one of them _female_ - asking to speak with Odin and Thor? If the two of them together were outnumbered, one would stand no chance, so they couldn't separate; still, the king _did_ need to be notified…

"I swear to you, in the name of my late father, King Laufey, that we have only come to speak with your king and _his_ father," Yardaff said, sensing their hesitance. "We do not seek to harm any of your race during this visit, nor have we come to take back our sacred relic. You need not fear what we might do if you turn your backs - you have my word, as prince of Jotunheim."

"Perhaps you could simply lead us to the All-Father and his son now?" suggested Krunagh. "We will follow you, if you would to take us to them, or if you wish to take us someplace where you would be less fearful of us."

Yardaff nodded in agreement. Enchessa was still and silent.

The two guards looked at each other. One of them nodded to the other, and they turned back to the three Jotuns.

"As you say, Frost Giant," said the one who had nodded. The two guards marched up to the Jotun trio, then stood aside. "We will bring you elsewhere."

"Are we to be taken there at spearpoint?" asked Enchessa.

Yardaff smiled and stepped forward. Krunagh followed him, and Enchessa joined them after a moment's hesitation. As he passed the guards, Yardaff told them, "I advise that you not provoke the Lady Enchessa; I have little control over her."

"You have _no_ control over me, _My_ _Lord_," Enchessa said contemptuously.

The two Asgardians gave no response to this, and the three Frost Giants were indeed led forward at spearpoint.

~o~

After several minutes of messengers running back and forth and Asgardian soldiers gathering to keep an eye on the three ambassadors, Yardaff, Krunagh, and Enchessa came to stand before Thor and Odin, as well as Heimdall, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and several dozen nameless soldiers.

"Why have you returned here?" Odin asked Yardaff.

Yardaff bared his teeth. "I told you I would avenge my brother, no matter the cost," he told Odin. "In coming here today, I aim to do so with as _little_ cost to our realms as possible."

"You come with accompaniment," Odin noted.

"All-Father," Krunagh said, stepping forward. "It has been many centuries since I last saw you. That day, you were slaying my brethren, and still had two eyes."

"Who are you?" Odin asked.

"I am Krunagh," Krunagh answered. "I served as general under King Laufey, and so too shall I serve as general in the upcoming war, should it come."

"All-Father, what you have done is an atrocity for which you must pay with your life," Yardaff said. "However, there is no need for others-"

"What 'atrocity' do you speak of?" Odin asked.

Yardaff noticed that Thor was silent during all of this; he glanced at the son of Odin, and saw that he apparently could not face the Jotun ambassadors.

"What you have done to my brother, crown prince of Jotunheim - what you have reduced him to - is something for which you can never be forgiven," Yardaff answered Odin.

"I saved Loki's life," Odin said scornfully. "Your father would have left him to die."

"What sort of beasts do you take us for, All-Father?" Enchessa snarled, stepping forward.

"What you say is untrue, though it may well have been an honest mistake," Yardaff said, gesturing for Enchessa to back off. "My brother was small and helpless; had any of your warriors found him - or so my father feared - you would have annihilated him. He was left abandoned in our temple so that he would be out of harm's way."

"He was suffering!" Odin retorted.

"Better suffering than dead!" Enchessa snapped.

"And who are _you_?" Odin asked Enchessa.

"This is Lady Enchessa, the finest spellcaster to have ever graced our realm," Yardaff answered for her.

"'Lady'?" Thor exclaimed, looking up. His eyes widened when he saw Enchessa.

Enchessa smiled wickedly. "Loki, too, was surprised to meet me," she said. "The All-Father would have you believe…what? That Frost Giants are monsters spawned from some cold, dark pit, with no purpose but to harm others?" She shook her head contemptuously, turning on Odin. "All-Father, you shame yourself time and again," she said coldly. "I do not see how you could possibly wrong our race and realm further."

"Had you raised Loki well - with love, as your son - then your mistake would have been forgivable," Yardaff said, getting back to the reason he had come. "However, your treatment of him was inexcusable. You must pay with your life for what you have done."

"You told our guards you had come in peace!" Thor said, stepping forward, his grip on Mjolnir tightening.

"We have, in this instance," Yardaff told him. He turned back to Odin. "You see, All-Father, to go to war is not what any of us desire. It would mean many lives lost, on both sides…and all because of _you_. We would not have it this way. You are the only one who need suffer - we hold no grudge against the rest of your kind."

"So why have you come?" Odin asked.

"We have come in the hopes that you might show some small amount of decency for once and surrender yourself to us, with no need for further bloodshed," Enchessa answered. "You alone are the one who must be punished."

"Please, All-Father," Krunagh said, "spare your people the atrocities of war. Whether you feel remorse for what you did to Loki or not, there is no need for innocent lives to be sacrificed."

"I do not fear you," Odin declared, "nor do I have any _reason_ to regret my treatment of Loki. You ask that I allow you to execute me? I will not!"

"So be it," Yardaff said. He turned to Thor. "And what say you, son of Odin?" he asked. "As king of Asgard, it _is_ within your power to surrender him to us, is it not?"

"You would have me send my father to die?" Thor asked angrily.

"Do you still call Loki your brother?" Yardaff countered softly.

Thor was silent for a moment, then declared, "I will stand by my father."

"So be it, then," Yardaff said. "As we cannot resolve this matter relatively peacefully, war is the only answer." He glared at Odin. "So long as you still breathe, All-Father, we will show this realm no mercy," he told him. "We will kill all who stand between you and us, so that we may slay you and avenge my brother, my family, and all of our kind. There can be no other outcome."

"My brother would not wish for this," Thor told the Jotuns.

"How _dare_ you call him your brother?" Yardaff snarled, turning on him again. "You would defend the one who ruined him, the one who reduced him to less than nothing - you've no right to call him your family!"

"He would not wish for this!" Thor repeated, raising his voice. "I've been watching him since he left your realm for Earth, and he is _content_ with his life as it now stands! He would not have our two races destroy one another on his behalf! Just a short time ago, he-!"

"_Enough_!" Yardaff roared. "The last time _I_ saw my brother - from this very room - he was shouting helplessly to a foreign sky!"

"Witnessing that caused me as much pain as it caused you," Thor told Yardaff, "but he is no longer angry to the point of wishing ill of either of our realms. He would not wish for this."

"Regardless of whether or not it's still what _he_ wishes, this is about a great deal more than his own suffering," Enchessa said icily. "The All-Father has shamed, not only Loki Silvertongue, but the entire royal family of our realm, and _all_ of our race. Even if Loki were to forgive him, _we_ would not. The All-Father's crime has wounded all of us." Her eyes narrowed. "And soon, it will wound all of _you_, as well," she added cruelly. "Anyone who dares attempt to protect the All-Father _will_ perish, as shall he…and, because you have declared your stance in this matter, so shall you, son of Odin."

"We will see," Thor said.

Yardaff nodded. "Farewell for now, then," he said, and turned to go.

"What makes you think you will be allowed to simply walk away?" Odin asked dangerously.

Yardaff stopped. "This was an attempt at diplomacy, and we would leave as peacefully as we came, for now," he replied, not looking back.

"And if that answer is not enough for you, All-Father," Enchessa added, "what about…_this_?"

Yardaff looked at her, just in time to see her turn to one of the nameless Asgardian soldiers and slash her hand through the air in a wide arc. Her movement left behind a razor-thin blade of ice that, instead of falling to the floor and shattering, flew forward through the air; the Asgardian she had turned on barely had time to blink before the blade cleaved him neatly in two.

The other Asgardians gave a collective gasp of shock as the soldier's remains fell to the floor with two sickening thuds.

"What say you to _that_, All-Father?" Enchessa sneered at Odin. "Allow us to leave, and the rest of you will be spared for now. You _are_ unprepared, after all, or so it would seem; the battle will not begin just yet. You will have some time…_if_ you let us go."

Thor looked quickly between Enchessa and Odin, clearly trying to weigh the consequences of fighting versus letting the Jotuns walk away.

"Leave," he finally commanded. "Now. Begone!"

The three Frost Giants walked away without another word. The Asgardians appeared too stunned to make any move to stop them, so they returned to the gate undisturbed. It wasn't until they had returned to Jotunheim that Yardaff said to Enchessa, "I had no idea you were so violent, My Lady."

Enchessa laughed coldly. "As I told you, I have long thirsted for Asgardian blood," she said. She paused, then added with relish, "And I will have much more once the war has truly begun."

"When shall our armies attack?" Krunagh asked Yardaff. "At dawn?"

Yardaff was about to answer yes, when a golden gleam in the low light caught his eye. He looked, and saw Loki's helmet, exactly where he'd placed it. All of this was for Loki…

"No," he replied, "not just yet." He turned back to Krunagh. "Tell me, Krunagh," he said, "how was it that our kind travelled between the realms in the old days of war?"

"There are passages between _all_ the realms," Krunagh answered; "once, we were free to use them."

"Do you recall where any of them are?" Yardaff asked.

Unfortunately, Krunagh shook his head. "Their locations shift at times, and it has been too long since we were allowed to use them," he answered; "your father was the last of our kind with the ability to find them."

"Not the last," Yardaff muttered. He turned to Enchessa. "My Lady, I would ask a favor of you," he said to her.

"What favor?" she asked.

"Through his skill with magic, my brother was able to locate the secret gates between the realms," Yardaff said; "I ask that you please do the same. Please, find the gate to Earth through which my brother left us."

"You would have him join us in this battle?" Enchessa asked.

"I would," Yardaff confirmed.

"It took him over a year to find that gate," Enchessa said. "Our realm is vast; if you wait for me to find him, it may delay the war for days, weeks, even months."

"As this is all on his behalf, he has the right to join us," Yardaff said firmly. "It matters not how long the war is delayed, as the Asgardians cannot leave their realm."

"True," Enchessa said hesitantly.

"The Asgardians will still be there for you to slay when your task is done," Yardaff pointed out. He smiled and added, "I swear to you, you will have all the Asgardian blood you crave; but for now, please find the gate to Earth."

"Would you like me to retrieve your brother?" Enchessa asked.

"Nay," Yardaff replied; "I would rather speak with him myself."

Enchessa met Yardaff's eyes wordlessly for a minute. Yardaff returned her gaze.

"I shan't be long," she said at last, and she turned and sprinted away.

Yardaff and Krunagh watched her go.

"She is certainly Skadi's daughter, through and through," Krunagh said in an odd tone of voice.

"Indeed she is," Yardaff agreed; "just as beautiful, and with intellect and magical proficiency surpassing all who came before."

"It is a shame her mother perished when half of Jotunheim was destroyed by your brother," Krunagh said.

"No," Yardaff said firmly, turning to Krunagh. "My brother was not to blame for his actions. It was the All-Father, and the All-Father alone, who caused this."

Krunagh nodded to him, conceding, then turned back in the direction Enchessa had gone. "Do you truly believe the Lady Enchessa would make a suitable queen of Jotunheim?" he asked Yardaff; there was something strange about his tone.

Yardaff chuckled. "Not queen," he replied; "_goddess_ of Jotunheim.

Krunagh sighed.

"I am thankful that my father did not choose Skadi for his mate," Yardaff went on. "I still fail to comprehend _why_ he did not, though."

"I know why," Krunagh said softly.

Yardaff turned back to him.

"It was because your father understood that, as king of Jotunheim, his own wishes and desires had to come second to the good of our realm, and the well-being of our people," Krunagh told Yardaff.

"I don't understand," Yardaff said, confused.

Krunagh sighed again. "You are young, son of my friend," he said; "far younger than your father was when _he_ took the throne. You've much to learn still." He paused, then added, "I pray you learn what you must before it is too late."

The general's words only served to confuse Yardaff further. It wouldn't be until after weeks of thinking things over that he would understand.

~X~

The very same night, completely oblivious to all that was transpiring on his behalf, Loki lay awake, pondering what his life had become.

He had once hated that he had been forced to live among mortals. Now…things were different. On Asgard, he had been treated as inferior, passed over and downtrodden, for reasons he hadn't understood; in Jotunheim, he had been hailed as the long-lost crown prince of the realm, treated with almost godlike reverence. As he reflected on it now, he realized that _neither_ of those things were what he wanted; all he wanted was to _belong_ - to be treated as an _equal_, worthy but not worshipped. And on Earth…

He smiled. Here on Earth, he had finally found that place, where he belonged.

_Not on Earth alone, though,_ he thought; _were it not for Darcy, I would have no place _here_, either…_

_Darcy_…She was so much more clever than most people would give her credit for - possibly far more so than she would give _herself_ credit for. He couldn't talk circles around her, as he so easily could with everyone else he had ever met. Indeed, sometimes _she_ managed to talk circles around _him_, which was no easy feat.

No one had ever spoken to him as she did - not as though he was superior to her, even despite his powers, but not as though he was _in_ferior to her, either. She wasn't afraid to tell him about himself - both his merits _and_ his faults. She wasn't afraid of him at _all_. She corrected his sentences constantly, no matter how irritated he was, and the few times he'd made the mistake of threatening her to try to make her stop, she'd corrected his sentences _and_ told him all the reasons he should be ashamed of himself. Incredibly, she had the power to _make_ him feel ashamed…

It crossed Loki's mind that he should hate her. But he didn't. No…he _respected_ her, that she was bold and clever enough to keep him in line. And…and in the end, she was on his side, no matter what he might do or say. She had done so much for him…

What was it about mortals that made them so…so…so _different_? It did indeed seem that they had something that Asgardians lacked - something even _Frost_ _Giants_ lacked. Asgard and Jotunheim housed two completely opposite societies, but mortals had something they _both_ lacked, something…_more_.

Suddenly, Loki realized something: He wanted to _truly_ belong on Earth, among mortals. He didn't want to be Asgardian or Jotun - he wanted to be a _man_…a mortal.

He was surprised at himself for thinking such a thing. Being mortal would mean no more magic, less than a century left to live, all the shortcomings of a mortal body…

And yet…

Magic had never done him any good, in terms of helping him find a place or making him happy. The shortcomings of a mortal body would be insignificant, as he no longer _needed_ the resilience of Asgardians or Jotuns. As for not living very long…

_Well, I would not be able to stay here if I lived several more millennia,_ he thought. _Humans would notice. I would not belong. I would be a freak and an outcast, and before long Darcy would not be there to-_

He stopped. Darcy? Why would her not being there make a difference? He wouldn't visibly age during her lifetime, so he'd be a freak and an outcast long before she was gone…

His thoughts came full circle, and he realized what the real problem with living thousands of years would be: _Earth_ wasn't where he belonged, per se - where he belonged was with _Darcy_. Not even with her and Erik and Jane - Erik ignored him for the most part, and while Jane spoke to him occasionally, the closest things they'd had to actual conversations involved her research on the workings of the universe; since he didn't know how to tell her what he knew in words she could understand, though, those exchanges didn't last long. No…the only place he truly belonged was with _Darcy_.

She was the only one who had ever treated him as an equal, the only one who'd ever been able to match his silver tongue, the only one who'd ever sided with him no matter what…When she died, he would be alone again…

…unless he died with her.

_I want to be mortal,_ Loki thought. _I want to be mortal…for Darcy._

And once again, Loki felt the cruelty of his fate. He _wasn't_ mortal. He couldn't _be_ mortal. Nothing could change that…

…could it?

Odin_ made _Thor_ mortal,_ Loki remembered. _How did he do it?_ He thought for a minute. _He took everything that made Thor _more_ than mortal and put all of it in Mjolnir - probably through the manipulation of forces I'm too young to sense…but then again, I _am_ a master of magic; as a pure Asgardian, Odin doesn't have the same capacity for magic that I do. Perhaps I could…_

It was worth a try. _Anything_ was worth a try…for Darcy.

He sat up. It made sense that everything that made him more than mortal would have to _go_ somewhere - it was part of his essence, part of his soul, and as such couldn't simply be erased. He had nothing like Mjolnir, though - nothing that symbolized who he had been on Asgard. Nothing, except…

He chuckled. It was far from Mjolnir, but why not? He'd been reduced to embarrassing simplicity in other ways - it was fitting. Besides, it was all he had left of his old life…

He got out of his small, out-of-the-way bed. He was fully dressed - he _always_ slept in his clothes, if only as a force of habit. He then reached under his bed - the only place he'd been able to think of, all that time ago, where he would never have to see them again - and retrieved his old clothes, from his former life on Asgard. He still wasn't quite sure _why_ he'd kept them, but now, he was glad he had.

He looked at the bundle. A lot of dust had accumulated on the metal and fabric. _Everything_ was in that bundle - everything from his cape to his boots. Everything except his helmet, which he had left behind in Jotunheim. He had expected to feel some amount of nostalgia upon seeing that bundle, but he didn't. Not one day when he'd worn those clothes had he been happy - he missed nothing about his old life. There was nothing to feel nostalgic about. Still, they would suffice.

_The seal that locked Thor's powers in Mjolnir was conditional,_ Loki remembered. _That won't do for me - if I can manage to rid myself of my powers, I will _never_ wish to have them back. If I seal my powers in these, it won't do to have them anywhere nearby; the further they are from me, the better._

_That is, _if_ I can make myself mortal, and _if_ I can seal away everything that makes me more than human - in _anything_…_

He stood up, refusing to give himself time for second thoughts. Instead, he tried to think of someplace he could go to become mortal - someplace he would never return to, where he could safely leave all of his superhuman qualities without running the risk of being able to regain them.

He smiled as the perfect place occurred to him: the old Bifrost site, where Asgardians had _once_ had the power to come to Earth, but no longer. It was perfect - it was far, it was significant, and it was something else that was part of everything he wanted to leave behind him forever. True, the gate to Jotunheim was also something he wanted to leave behind, but it was closer - possibly _too_ close. A few miles wasn't very far…

_No reason to delay,_ Loki told himself, and he turned to leave. He walked quietly, so as not to risk waking the others - it was one of those increasingly frequent nights when Jane didn't stay up late doing her research, so no one had to know he was going-

"Loki?"

He didn't get five steps away from the building before he heard her voice.

He looked back. There she was, standing just inside the lab, looking at him. She was dressed in just a sweatshirt, baggy pants, and socks, but she had her glasses on.

Darcy.

She smiled. "What are you doing up?" she asked him.

Loki smiled back and raised an eyebrow at her. "I should be asking you the same question," he pointed out.

"You woke me up," Darcy answered.

Loki chuckled. "You still think you can lie to me," he said mockingly; she might be able to talk circles around him when it came to the truth, but as a liar she was completely transparent.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I wasn't asleep," she admitted. "I _did_ hear you, though, which is why I _got_ up."

He chuckled again. "Remember, you have to find some way to _believe_ what you're saying," he reminded her. "Given the circumstances, that should have been easy in this case."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes. "Your turn. What are you doing?"

Loki hesitated. He didn't want to tell her just yet, in case it couldn't be done.

"Are you leaving now?" she asked softly.

"No," he replied. "No, I'm not." He sighed. "There is…something I need to do," he told her.

"What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I'd rather not say just yet," Loki answered.

"In human?" she prompted.

Normally, he would have rolled his eyes, but tonight, he smiled. "I'll tell you later," he corrected himself.

"Very good," she said, smiling. "So…where are you going?"

"Again, I…will tell you when I get back," he replied, catching himself.

She shook her head. "Loki…"

He smiled at her again. "Fear not; I shan't be very long," he assured her.

She raised her eyebrows at him again. "In human?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Don't worry, Darcy, I'll be back before too long," he corrected. She opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly added, "I know you were expecting me to say 'I'll be back soon', but I _will_ be a while. Just…hopefully not _too_ long."

Darcy closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I know you don't have to sleep as much as us mere mortals do, so go ahead and do whatever it is you're doing. Just be back by morning, alright?"

He smiled, not only at the irony of her using the words 'mere mortals', but also at the cynical way she said them. "I will," he promised.

"Okay," she said again. "I trust you."

He nodded and turned back around.

"You're the only one who ever has," he said, too softly for her to hear, as he walked away.

~o~

The town still wasn't _completely_ silent, since it wasn't _terribly_ late, but Loki felt comfortable enough walking through the streets, if only just. He hadn't interacted with the common people at all since he'd arrived on Earth - he'd stayed entirely with Darcy, Jane, and Erik - and he was still far from confident in his ability to speak human. He was also a bit worried that he might stand out as a new face, but the few people he passed didn't seem to notice. Of course, going all the way through the town was the most direct path to the old Bifrost site, so it was all but inevitable that he'd run into someone at some point…

"Hey, buddy! Where you goin'?"

Loki was just a few steps away from the open desert when the truck pulled over and started rolling along beside him. He took a minute to translate what the man had said, and another minute to figure out how to word his response. Then, he looked over at whoever had spoken. What he saw was a man he guessed to be somewhat younger than Erik (though he couldn't be entirely sure), very large and uncouth-looking.

Loki stopped and answered, "Oh, uh, I was just going into the desert to do something. Something happened out there a little over two years ago, and I need to get to where it happened." The words felt strange and crude coming out of his mouth.

"What, you mean that satellite crash fifty miles from here?" the man asked incredulously.

It took Loki a minute to understand and reply. "Oh, no, not that," he answered; "something else, a bit closer."

"Oh, you mean that killer robot?" The man laughed very boorishly. "Yeah, that was one crazy day, lemme tell ya." He laughed again.

Loki managed to bury his disgust (and guilt) and smile. "I'm sure it was," he said. "Now, I need to get going-"

"What, you're plannin' on _walkin'_ all that way?" The man laughed again, this time _at_ Loki.

_People laugh here,_ Loki reminded himself firmly. _Don't take offense…_ "Why…is that funny?" he asked, catching himself just in time (he had been about to say 'Why does that amuse you?').

"Because that's still a few dozen miles from here!" the man laughed. "You're gonna be walkin' a _loooong_ time!"

Loki shook his head dismissively. "It was well within sight of this town," he said; "it can't be too far."

The man shook his head and got ahold of himself. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

"No," Loki replied.

"Well, I got news for you, buddy: That out there's a _desert_," the man told him. "Flat, too. Several dozen miles are 'well within sight of this town'."

"How long would it take me to walk there and back?" Loki asked, suddenly remembering that he would have to judge distance by mortal standards.

"Buddy, you prob'ly won't get back to this spot until this time _tomorrow_ night," the man replied.

Loki closed his eyes. _Damn,_ he thought; _Darcy told me to be back by tomorrow _morning_…but I can't _not_ go out there! I _have_ to do this…_

"Why don't you drive out there?" the man asked.

Loki quickly opened his eyes again. "Oh, uh, I don't know how to drive," he answered.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Well then, you must not be as old as you look," he commented.

Loki suppressed a laugh. "No, I'm not," he replied - which was _technically_ true. It wasn't _entirely_ his fault if the man assumed he was _younger_ than he looked, as opposed to many centuries _older_…

"Well, I'll tell you what," the man said: "If you really need to get out there and back tonight, I'll give you a lift."

Loki thought for a minute. If, as he guessed, 'I'll give you a lift' meant that the man was offering to drive him there and back…Loki knew that humans were generally untrustworthy, but if this one tried to do him harm, he would quickly overpower the mortal fool…_unless_ he was able to make _himself_ mortal, in which case he'd be essentially helpless.

_Should he prove trustworthy enough to take me all the way to the Bifrost site, he ought to be trustworthy enough to bring me back,_ Loki decided; _and if I _can_ become mortal, it will not be until after I get there, so I'll be safe either way._

He smiled. "That's very kind of you," he said, accidentally relapsing into slightly more formal words, "but you…probably have better things to do." He caught himself before too much harm was done.

"Nah, not really," the man replied. "Just out for a drive, at the moment - not really goin' anywhere." He smiled at Loki. "Come on, get in," he said.

Loki hesitated for a carefully calculated moment, then smiled. "Thank you," he said. He clutched his bundle against himself with one arm and used his other to open the door, climb into the passenger's seat of the truck, and shut the door behind him. He could easily have done it all with magic, but he had to appear normal.

"What's that you're carrying?" the man asked.

"Oh, this?" Loki looked down at his bundle. "It's…something very important to me," he said softly.

"Uh-_huh_," the man mused, starting the vehicle up again and driving out of the town. "What's it for?"

"Like I said, there's…something I need to do," Loki answered carefully. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Okay," the man said with a shrug. He paused for a second, then said, "You know, there's nothin' left out there now, so I'm not sure how you were plannin' on findin'-"

"I know where it is," Loki said. "I can find it."

The man chuckled. "What, you got some star charts memorized or somethin'?" he asked.

Loki laughed, knowing the human would misinterpret it. "Yes," he said, nodding, "something like that." Which, again, was _technically_ true.

There was silence for a minute.

"Oh, I'm Mike, by the way," the man said suddenly.

Loki smiled. "It's nice to meet you," he said.

"Yeah, you too," Mike replied. He paused, obviously expecting Loki to introduce himself in reply. When he didn't, Mike asked, "So what's _your_ name, buddy?"

Loki smiled. _No reason I can't have a _little_ fun._ "Most of my friends call me Loki," he answered.

"_Loki_?" Mike repeated, laughing again. "You mean as in Loki the Trickster, the Norse God of Mischief?"

Loki chuckled. "Yes," he replied. "For some reason, people seem to think it suits me."

"Oh, well, guess I'd better be careful of you, huh?" Mike joked.

He laughed. Loki laughed with him, albeit for completely different reasons, and said nothing more.

When they finished laughing, Mike said, "You know, you've got a funny accent."

Loki fought to maintain his composure. "I do?" he asked, trying not to sound worried.

"Yep," Mike replied, nodding. "You're definitely no redneck, that's for sure - you must be from pretty far away."

Loki made a mental note to ask Darcy what the word 'redneck' meant. "Yes," he replied, chuckling; "very, _very_ far away."

"Hmm…" Mike said ponderously. They drove in silence for a minute, then Mike asked, "So how'd you know about what happened out here two years ago? Were you here back then?"

"Oh, no," Loki replied, "_I_ wasn't, but, uh, someone very close to me was." Again, technically not a lie.

"And he told you about it?" Mike pressed.

Loki nodded. "He did," he said, and it was sort of true, if at a stretch. "He was, um…very involved…in the matter."

"You mean your friend had something to do with what happened?" Mike asked.

"Sort of," Loki replied, thankful that Mike didn't read too much in his inability to fully translate his statement into mortal speak. "He…yes, he did. Sort of." He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it," he told Mike.

"Alright," Mike said slowly.

"Were _you_ here when it happened?" Loki asked curiously.

"Sure was," Mike replied. "I was out there at the satellite crash for most of the party. Stayed long enough to see the Feds take over, too." He chuckled. "I remember afterwards, some guy overheard me talkin' about it at the diner and immediately asked where it was. When I told him, he strolled right outta there like he was gonna storm the place all on his own."

_Thor,_ Loki thought; _it couldn't possibly have been anyone else._ For some reason, _that_ made him feel a bit nostalgic. He didn't miss his life on Asgard, nor did he miss his life in Jotunheim, but for some reason, he _did_ miss his brother…

Loki pushed the matter aside and turned his focus on what was in front of them. They had been driving for several minutes, but the Bifrost site was still much further away than the town. He berated himself silently for not thinking of distance in terms of mortals - clearly, a few dozen miles was a long way for humans. _And if all goes as planned, it will soon be a long way for _me_ as well,_ he thought. _What would I have done had I made it all the way out there on my own, not realizing it would take hours to return? I'm fortunate that this man came by…_ He chuckled inwardly. _Perhaps fate has decided to stop being so cruel to me._

He pushed that unlikely thought aside as well and waited, watching to see when they were there. It was almost half an hour before he finally said to Mike, "Stop; that's close enough."

"Right here?" Mike asked. "How can you tell?"

Loki gave him a sly smile. "Star charts, remember?" he said mockingly.

Mike laughed again as Loki got out, and Loki couldn't help but reflect that, for such a lowly and uncouth human, Mike certainly seemed to enjoy laughing. _There is still a great deal I don't know about humans,_ Loki thought; _Darcy can only tell me so much. Is this person's manner perhaps part of some aspect of human culture? Perhaps that has something to do with what in the nine realms a 'redneck' is…_

Again, he pushed the matter aside - he had more important things to focus on. He'd had Mike stop about a quarter of a mile away from the actual site, as he couldn't let the mortal see what he was going to do. He gave just walking like a mortal a try, and it took him a few minutes to get there; still, not _too_ long.

He looked to the sky as he found the center of the site - the pattern on the ground that had appeared when the Bifrost was used all that time ago had vanished completely, so there was nothing for him to go by except his ability to sense what was beyond the stars.

Finally, he was there.

The vestigial powers of the Bifrost were still vaguely present. It wasn't enough for Loki to be able to make use of it - not even here at the apex - but it _was_ enough that he could just barely make out Asgard from where he stood.

He sighed and sank to his knees, still looking at Asgard. The sight of it brought back memories - painful memories, yes, but also a few less-painful ones…

_Had_ he ever been happy on Asgard? It had mostly been Odin who had hurt him, and Thor's offenses had been completely unintentional. And his mother…She _loved me,_ Loki remembered. She_ treated me and Thor as equals…_

He sighed again. Then, suddenly, one memory, from just before his banishment, bloomed forth in his mind:

_"Loki, this is madness!"_

_"Is it madness? _Is it_? _IS IT_?"_

He chuckled.

"Yes, brother, it _was_ madness," he admitted aloud; "I was simply too mad to see it, at the time." He set his bundle down beside him, still facing Asgard. "Still, I believe it was for the best," he went on; "it has been for _me_, at the very least. I pray it has been the same for everyone." _Except Father,_ he added silently to himself; but he'd left the past behind him, and didn't feel like raving against the All-Father anymore. The bitterness remained, but the rage was gone.

He turned his attention to the ground, and there, in the center of the old Bifrost site, he started to dig.

He dug with his hands, deciding to start getting used to mortality now, just in case it was possible. While the sand wasn't _too_ difficult to dig in, he quickly realized it would be some time before he managed to dig a hole big enough for what he was going to bury. _And I still have the resilience of an Asgardian,_ he thought. _If I were mortal, I most likely would be unable to do this…_

_Then again, what do _I_ know of mortal strength?_

Very much aware that the human was probably watching him, Loki was careful not to use magic. He dug for a full five minutes before he was satisfied. Then he dusted off his hands, picked up his bundle again, and carefully set it in the hole. _So long as it stays buried, no one will be able to gain whatever powers I might be able to seal in this,_ he thought.

He lightly put his hands on the top of the bundle and closed his eyes. This was far unlike anything he'd ever done before, and he wasn't even quite sure what he was supposed to do.

Magic wasn't something that could be fully explained in words. Even as a master of magic, while Loki sort of understood _how_ it worked, he himself wasn't entirely sure _why_. Magic was simply something he _did_ - that was all it _could_ be, really. All he knew for sure was that there were forces everywhere, forces that couldn't be manipulated through machines or any physical movement; only through sensing them and manipulating them through sheer willpower could they ever be used. It took centuries of experiencing and observing the universe before _anyone_ could sense these forces - though Loki wasn't entirely sure why _that_ was, either.

His small amount of understanding wasn't enough for what he wanted to do now. He needed to work magic on _himself_ - something he had never done. He had never used magic on an actual person directly. Yes, he'd _fought_ people with magic, but that was still a matter of manipulating _surrounding_ forces, willing them to turn against whomever he was fighting.

_I can't do this,_ Loki thought. _I don't know enough…_

_But I_ must_ do it. For myself. For the sake of having a life here._

_For Darcy._

Loki focused his magic. The forces in the universe were something he was constantly aware of, just as he was aware of his hands - they were simply _there_. There was slightly more potential magic here than usual, due to the remnants of the Bifrost, but none of the energies around him seemed to be what he _needed_; they didn't interact with him naturally as much as they would have to for what he wanted to do.

How had Odin done it? He had made Thor mortal with little more visible effort than it cost Loki to summon his shadow-sprites…

His shadow-sprites. How _did_ he make them, anyway? His own body had to be at least _part_ of the spell, as they were all mirror images of him, but…all he was ever aware of doing was combining-

Loki almost laughed at himself. _Could it really be that simple?_ he thought. _If so, it's even more simple than what I _normally_ do…!_

He sat up slightly, putting a bit of space between his hands and his old clothes and allowing energy to flow through the space. _Do the same thing, only, instead of channeling your _image_, channel your _essence_,_ he told himself…

The only problem was, he had no idea how to do that. What essence? He had to have an image of it before he could channel it…

He thought about how it felt when his essence as a Frost Giant surfaced - how it felt as though ice that was buried in his marrow started to spread through his flesh. That ice was _always_ there; he just didn't feel it most of the time. He couldn't feel it _now_…but it _was_ there, and it had to go. He couldn't be part Frost Giant if he wanted to be mortal…but…but the ice…

…It was always there.

The ice in the core of his soul was also something that was simply _there_, like his hands. Loki felt it now, and before he could second-guess himself, he tried to make it flow the same way he manipulated other forces - through his arms and hands, out into the space between his hands and old clothes, and into the metal and fabric that would hold it.

And it worked. Loki felt the icy energy draining out through his hands with surprising speed. Within a minute, it was done.

Suddenly, the air around Loki felt noticeably warmer. He looked down at himself to make sure he was still in humanoid form - since he was a Frost Giant underneath everything, he wasn't quite sure of the potential repercussions of getting rid of that part of him. His worries were groundless - he was still himself, on the outside.

He looked at the bundle in the hole. Clouds of vapor were coming off it. Curious, Loki touched part of the fabric. It felt impossibly cold - but not painfully so, as the cold energy started to reabsorb into him immediately. Loki quickly forced it back and pulled his hand away.

It crossed his mind then that, now that he had this new understanding of magic, he would be more powerful than ever. He could experiment with this, learn exactly what magic was and how it worked, learn to do _anything_. He could do so many new and different things - he could become the most powerful spellcaster in the nine realms…!

_Darcy._

No. Magic was of no use to him on Earth, and now that he'd found a place where he belonged, he wasn't going to leave. He had to give it all up. For Darcy.

He held out his hands again, not needing to close his eyes this time. The next thing that had to go was the longevity and resilience characteristic of an Asgardian. He couldn't get rid of _all_ of his essence as an Asgardian, since that was the only thing that gave him form now, but the part that made him significantly more than human had to go.

He thought about how he would have been able to walk all the way out here without even getting winded, and how his fingertips and nails were smooth and unscratched even though he'd dug with them in the sand for five minutes. Both of those things, he knew, marked him as inhuman. He only needed to look at his hands to see…

He felt something, and acted on it instinctively. This time, he was actually able to _watch_ as the energy flowed out of him through his hands and mixed with the forces that were everywhere in the universe, then into his old Asgardian clothes. Again, it happened within a minute. Then, all that was left was his ability to use magic.

Suddenly, his senses overloaded. The forces that surrounded him, instead of being something he was passively aware of, suddenly assaulted him. Strands of concentrated energy, almost separate from the continuous flow that permeated everything, surrounded him like so many lasers - some of them even went through his body - and all of them hurt him. The slightest movement caused him to brush against others, and every slight touch zapped him like a bolt of electricity. On top of that, the flow of energy around him felt like it was going to blow him away, like a burning leaf in the wind - except the wind couldn't put the fire out. It was too much!

He gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes shut, determined not to cry out with pain, and steadied his hands. He didn't have to force it this time - there was nothing he wanted more in the entire universe than to make it stop, _make it stop, MAKE IT STOP…!_

And suddenly, it stopped.

Once the aftereffects of the pain subsided, Loki's first cohesive thought was, _Strange that a mortal body would be _more_ sensitive than that of an Asgardian or Jotun…_

His second cohesive thought was, _Am I still alive?_

With his eyes closed, he felt like he didn't even exist. Everything around him felt empty and lifeless. He tried to inhale, just to see if he could, and he felt air enter his lungs…but it was cold, dead, _empty_ air.

He opened his eyes.

He was still sitting in the desert, beside the hole that held his sealed powers. He looked down at himself, and saw that he was still there. But all around him…there was nothingness. He couldn't sense the forces that surrounded him. He knew they were still there - they _had_ to be - but he couldn't feel them.

He looked up at the sky again. His view of Asgard was gone, and all he saw was stars in an empty, black sky.

He had been able to sense the forces that permeated the universe for as far back as he could remember. Now that he couldn't, he felt as though he were dead. The vast, empty space around him made him feel like an insect - small and powerless and utterly insignificant.

Which meant…

He looked down into the hole he'd dug in the sand.

His old clothes still gave off clouds of vapor, but now they also hummed with power. In them, he could see something similar to the forces he was now blind to everywhere else. How he could even see that much, he wasn't sure - possibly because it had once been part of him.

_But no longer,_ he thought, and he smiled. _I did it! For all intents and purposes, I'm human now! I am nothing but a man!_ He looked around again. _Although how mortals manage to live like this, I've not a clue._

_Oh well. It no longer matters._

Still smiling, he started filling the hole in with the sand he'd dug out. The sand seemed to resist him more than before, and he was painfully aware of each grain as it dug into his skin. It seemed that a mortal body was more sensitive to _everything_…not to mention, it was significantly weaker. Still, those were small prices for Loki to pay in order for him to truly belong somewhere; and besides, surely he would get used to it.

Finally, there was a mound of sand where the hole had been. His powers were sealed away and deep in the ground - he would never have them back.

He stood up, glanced at the sky one more time, then turned his back and walked away.

~o~

Mike was still waiting by his truck when Loki came back.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

"I was just…saying goodbye," Loki answered, finding that his mind was still as sharp as it had been. "I'm done now. Would you please take me back?"

"Sure," Mike said, and he got back in his truck.

Loki climbed in again. It took more effort than he was used to using, but he was careful not to let it show. Mike didn't seem to notice anything unusual, so either Loki was still good at hiding things or this human was completely oblivious.

_"This human"…_ Loki smiled at himself inwardly. _As though he's any different from me, now…_

He turned to Mike, suddenly realizing something. "Please," he said, "don't tell anyone about this…and please don't dig that up. Let it all rest in peace."

"'Rest in peace'?" Mike asked, starting up his truck again. "What, was someone dead in that bundle?"

Loki chuckled softly. "Yes," he replied; and again, he technically wasn't lying.

"You gonna come back out here and set up a cross or somethin'?" Mike asked.

"No," Loki replied. "No, it's perfect the way it is. It's…what he would have wanted." He thought of something else and added, "He was the one I told you about, who was involved in what happened two years ago."

"Oh," Mike said, turning the truck around so they could go back to town. "Were you and he close?"

Loki couldn't fully suppress his smile. "Yes," he answered; "very." He sighed. "Part of me misses him…but in the end, I'm glad it's finally over."

"What's over?" Mike asked.

Loki took a moment to silently berate himself for saying too much. "It's complicated," he finally answered. "I'm just…glad he can finally rest in peace."

And again, technically, it wasn't a lie.

~o~

Loki told Mike to stop at the same place he'd been picked up.

"You plannin' on stayin' here a little while longer, or are you goin' back to wherever you're from?" Mike asked him as he got out of the truck.

"I, um…I'm going to stick around here for a little while," Loki answered. "I can get to where I'm staying from here, though. Thank you for giving me a ride - I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't."

"You'd prolly've fried in the desert," Mike said, laughing again in his strange, crude way.

Loki smiled, even though he just barely understood what Mike had said. "Probably," he acknowledged. "Thank you very much."

"Any time," Mike said affably. "Guess I'll see you around…" He chuckled. "…_Loki_."

Loki chuckled too and watched Mike drive away. When the truck was out of sight, Loki thought about the strange, uncouth man. Even though he was far from sophisticated, he was still happy, and he was able to laugh at the smallest things. Loki had never known anyone to find so much amusement in the little things…

He looked around again, and the unfamiliar sense of emptiness in the air weighed down on him heavily.

_Humans are forced to live like this all their lives,_ Loki thought. _They no longer know that there's anything more; perhaps they never did. Everything is on a larger scale for them, because they mostly only know small things._

_And yet, they're happy. They're oblivious to what's all around them, yet they find happiness somehow. They may even be happier than any Asgardian or Jotun…_

Loki chuckled to himself and started walking back to Jane's lab. All his life, he'd tried to become more powerful, thinking that that was the meaning of his life - and everyone around him had thought the same way. But here, powerless and insignificant, mortals were perfectly happy.

And now, so was he.

~o~

Darcy sat in a chair in the dark, empty lab, waiting for Loki. It had been more than an hour and a half since he'd left, and she was starting to worry.

It wasn't so much that she was worried about what _he_ might do (not that she was completely oblivious to the fact that most people wouldn't trust him, and for good reason); she was more worried about what someone _else_ might do. He hadn't gone out since he'd come to Earth, and he wasn't very good at talking normal; besides which, _Thor_ hadn't been very good at blending in, and since Loki was his brother, Darcy worried. Sure, he'd been learning stuff for ten months, and sure, he wasn't a show-off like Thor, but still…People didn't react well to people who didn't fit in…

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice he'd come back until he spoke.

"Darcy?" Loki asked softly.

She stood up quickly. "Oh, good, you're back!" she said.

He smiled at her. "Have you been staying up all this time, only to wait for me?" he asked.

Darcy felt her face get hot. "No," she said defensively.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, but that was truly pathetic," he told her. "_Anyone_ could have seen through that." The offensiveness of his words was offset by his strangely kind smile.

"Yeah, well…" She fumbled a moment for a comeback. When she couldn't find one, she just said, "Yeah, I was waiting for you. You said you'd tell me where you were going when you came back, and I didn't want to wake up to some surprise disaster in the morning."

"I thought you trusted me," he said slyly, raising an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to one-up me?" she asked, annoyed.

He blinked. "I don't," he said, apparently surprised. "In fact, more often than not, _you_ are the one who 'one-up's _me_."

It was Darcy's turn to blink. "I do?" she asked.

"Quite frequently," Loki replied. He smiled again. "You're the only person I've ever met who has been able to do that," he told her.

Darcy was confused. Was he trying to give her a compliment?

She shook her head slightly and shrugged. "So, where have you been?" she asked, changing the subject without any attempt at subtlety.

"The old Bifrost site," he answered without hesitation.

"The old Bifrost site?" she repeated. "You mean where Thor and that big robot thing came from?"

"The Destroyer," he corrected, "and yes, the place where they arrived."

"You walked all the way there and back in less than two hours?" she asked disbelievingly.

He chuckled. "No," he replied, "though I initially meant to. No, a good samaritan gave me a ride."

Darcy's eyes widened. There was so much potential for disaster in that scenario…

Loki chuckled again, taking a step towards her. "Fear not," he said; "he meant no harm, and I was able to imitate human speech enough that I caused little suspicion. He only said I had a 'funny accent'." He paused for a second. "'Funny' in such context means 'strange', yes?" he asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"Which reminds me," he added: "What is a 'redneck'?"

"Oh that's, uh, like a hick," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh…hillbilly?" she tried.

He raised his eyebrow a bit higher.

Darcy sighed. "This is gonna take a while, isn't it?" she said resignedly.

"Most likely, based on the fact that none of your synonyms mean anything to me whatsoever," Loki replied.

Darcy couldn't help but chuckle at his overlong sentence. "Okay, pop quiz," she said: "What is the shortest possible way to say what you just said?"

He smiled. "'Probably'," he answered.

"Why don't you just _say_ that?" she asked him, smiling back.

He shrugged. "What's that mortal saying?" he asked in reply. "'Old habits die hard'?"

She laughed. "Alright, I'll give you that," she conceded. She paused, then asked, "So what were you doing out in the desert?"

"Putting the past behind me," he replied.

"_Still_?" Darcy asked. "I thought you'd already done that!"

"For the most part, I had," Loki said. "Tonight, I…put it to rest, once and for all."

"And you had to go all the way out to the Bifrost site to do that _because_…?" she pressed.

He looked at her silently for a moment. Then, he took another step towards her and sighed.

"Darcy, I…cannot thank you enough, for all that you've done for me," he told her, a bit hesitantly. "You've stood by me, trusted me, taught me what I need to know in order to survive here…all still for no reason I can fathom. I've done nothing to earn this…but thanks to you, I…I have a place in this universe. I've felt more at home here than I ever did on Asgard or in Jotunheim. And…I wished to _truly_ belong here, to no longer be more than human-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Darcy interrupted, "slow down. You want to be _human_?"

Loki chuckled, and it was then that Darcy noticed how he seemed especially happy. "Darcy, I cannot _truly_ be human," he told her; "my memories alone prevent that. But I recalled how Odin made Thor mortal, and I…thought that perhaps I could do the same to myself."

"And did you?" Darcy asked, her mind reeling.

Loki's smile widened into a grin. "I did," he said. "For all intents and purposes, I am only a man now. I am as weak as a man, I'll die in a few decades, and unfortunately, I will no longer be able to amuse you with my magic. My apologies," he added, inclining his head.

"Wh…?" Darcy shook her head, speechless. It didn't make any sense! Why would he give up his godlike powers to be human? Why would _anyone_ want to do that?

Loki smiled wryly at her distress. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"Why would you _do_ that?" Darcy finally blurted out.

"To belong here," Loki answered.

"But you _look_ human, or human _enough_!" Darcy protested. "Sure you wouldn't age, but you could always, like, change your name and move or something every few years - and with your magic, you could totally reinvent yourself after-"

She stopped when she registered the fact that Loki was laughing at her.

After a moment, his laughing fit subsided, and he smiled at her. "I think you misunderstand me, Darcy," he said.

Darcy blinked. "Huh?" she asked.

Loki hesitated again. "My place…is not simply _here_, in this _realm_," he said; "I'd actually feel much less at home here than I did in Jotunheim…were it not for _you_."

"Me?" Darcy repeated stupidly. Her brain suddenly felt like it had stopped working…

"Yes," Loki replied with a nod. "My place is not _in_ _this_ _realm_, Darcy; my place in the universe…is with _you_. _Only_ with you."

Darcy couldn't think, much less speak. Even in the faint moonlight, Loki looked like a prince out of a fairy tale, and what he was saying on top of that was just…too good to be true. She had to be dreaming.

Loki's smile faded. "I cannot change the fact that you are mortal, Darcy," he said softly, "but the day you die, I'll be alone again. You are the only person who has ever trusted me, the only one who's ever been able to match my silver tongue, the only one who's ever stood by me no matter what…" He shook his head. "You're all I have. Perhaps I could find something more if I searched, but…I have no wish to do so. My place is with you. I wished to make myself mortal so that I would not be forced to spend several millennia living without you. I…could _not_ live without you. So I went to the old Bifrost site, dug a hole, and there I buried my powers with my old clothes. I will never again be anything but mortal."

It took a minute, but finally, one thought managed to form in Darcy's stupefied mind:

_If this is a dream, might as well go for broke._

So, just as impulsively as Jane had with Thor, Darcy walked forward, closing the gap between her and Loki, and kissed him.

He kissed her back.

They weren't using each other. This was real. The meaning was real, and the feelings were real. This was the beginnings of love.

When they broke apart, Loki smiled at her again.

"And don't worry," he said; "unlike my brother, I'm not going anywhere."

She laughed, and they kissed again, harder.

What neither of them could possibly know was that, at precisely the same moment that their lips met, an Asgardian soldier died by the hand of a Frost Giant for the first time in many centuries.

~o~

Time went on.

Loki and Darcy came closer and closer to each other.

Enchessa came closer and closer to finding Loki.

And the universe came closer and closer to the potentially catastrophic event that would change three of its nine realms forever…


	16. Chapter 16

~Two Months Later~

"You have done well," Yardaff said.

"It took far too long for me to find the damned thing," Enchessa said scornfully. "There was no need to delay the battle thus."

They stood alone in front of the gate between Earth and Jotunheim - the very one Loki had used a year earlier, and which Enchessa had only just located. Yardaff held Loki's helmet in his grasp. He had carried it everywhere with him for most of the past year; it had become like a talisman, to remind him of what needed to be done and why.

"This war is on behalf of my brother," Yardaff told her; "he has every right to witness its commencement - or, at the very least, to be informed that we are answering his prayer."

"I mean Loki Silvertongue no disrespect," Enchessa said haughtily, "but this war has been too long in coming as it is, and I no longer have the patience to wait. It is time for us to put an end to that race of foul beasts, as we ought to have long ago."

Yardaff turned to face Enchessa fully, surprised at her words. "My Lady, our goal is not to kill every citizen of Asgard - our goal is to destroy the All-Father," he said; "he alone is to blame."

"Who's to say the rest of the people of Asgard are any different from him?" Enchessa retorted. She shook her head angrily. "We've allowed those monsters to live for far too long," she hissed.

"My Lady, please, mind our heritage," Yardaff said.

"Our _heritage_?" she repeated. "We have warred with those creatures for generations! I am more than eager to do my part!"

"I speak of our heritage from _before_ the war," Yardaff clarified. He sighed. "My Lady, we are not a race of warriors," he told Enchessa. "We do not seek battle for its own sake; the only reason our realm has warred with Asgard for three generations is because we alone have the strength to keep the Asgardians in line."

"Well, I say it's time we did something more than simply 'keep them in line'," Enchessa snarled. "They are a plague on the nine realms, and always have been. They may be wary of us, but it's time they learned to _fear_ us, as they ought…and if they all perish to that end, so much the better for everyone," she added, an unfortunately familiar gleam in her glowing red eyes.

Yardaff wanted, very much, to ignore that glint, and he nearly did…but then he remembered his conversation with Krunagh two months before. He knew well what the look in Enchessa's eyes meant, and suddenly, he understood.

He sighed heavily and bent down to place Loki's helmet on the ice-covered stone. He knew what he had to do. Perhaps he had _always_ known, deep down, that it would come to this…

"Lady Enchessa," he said, straightening and meeting her gaze, "you are well-respected amongst our people. Your beauty has only ever been rivaled by one Jotun in history - your mother, Skadi - and your intellect and magical proficiency are entirely unprecedented. For these reasons, many believe that you are to become the next queen of Jotunheim. And, I must confess, I myself have long admired you. In truth, what I looked forward to most about my coronation was that I would be able to choose you as my mate."

Enchessa gave a smug smirk. "My Lord, I-" she began.

"However," Yardaff said firmly, cutting her off.

Enchessa was rendered silent.

"However," Yardaff repeated, "as king of Jotunheim, I will have my duties. Many responsibilities come with the Jotun throne, and I must mind them. Even now, as acting king of Jotunheim, it is my duty to ensure the well-being of our people - and so it shall be, all the more so, once I formally take power. I must put the good of our realm, and the well-being of our people, before my own wishes and desires." He paused, working up the strength to say what he had to say.

Enchessa was silent, a puzzled look on her face.

Yardaff sighed heavily again. "Therefore," he finished, "I…must choose another as my queen."

"_What_?" Enchessa exclaimed. "_Who_?"

"I know not," Yardaff replied truthfully; "I have never desired another female of any race, so I've yet to make my decision. What is certain is that I must choose another, no matter how much I might wish otherwise. You cannot rule by my side, nor by the side of any Jotun, past, present, or future - you are unworthy of such power."

"_Unworthy_?" Enchessa repeated, outraged. "Who could possibly be _less_ 'unworthy' than I?"

Yardaff sighed again. "My Lady, as I said, your beauty, intelligence, and magical skill are unrivaled by any other Jotun, past or present," he answered; "however, your _attitude_ - your pride, your arrogance, your lust for battle - do not become _any_ Jotun, queen or no. Your behavior…would better suit an Asgardian."

"_How DARE you_?" Enchessa shrieked, quickly becoming enshrouded in clouds of vapor; among Jotuns, there was no greater insult.

"How dare I?" Yardaff repeated, his tone getting less gentle. "All Jotuns may speak to one another as they see fit, and in this instance, I say only what I see. For all your admirable gifts, and despite what I may feel for you personally, there is no doubt that our realm would only suffer under your rule. Therefore, I must choose another."

The glow of Enchessa's eyes intensified. "If all Jotuns may speak to one another as they see fit," she snarled in a low voice, "then I may say aloud what _I_ see of _you_…and what I see is a coward and a fool - a mere _child_ - who, for all his talk of the good of our own realm, is too weak to do what must be done for the good of _all_ the realms! How _dare_ you defend the people of Asgard, after what they did to your own brother?"

"The All-Father, and the All-Father alone, is the one who cruelly destroyed my brother, and I do not defend him," Yardaff replied calmly. "However, most of the other Asgardians share no blame in the All-Father's crime, and there is no reason for them to perish on behalf of an offense in which they did not participate. What's more, I am not only defending the people of Asgard - your thirst for battle, and the manner in which you treat your fellow Jotuns, is utterly repulsive entirely on its own. We are not a violent people, and we all treat one another as equals; and while I still admire you…while I still desire you, and most likely always shall…I can no longer deny the fact that you are a disgrace to our realm, and shame on all Jotuns, past, present, and future. I must choose another for my mate." He inclined his head. "I am truly sorry, My Lady, but it had to be said," he told her.

Enchessa didn't reply; Yardaff got the feeling she was too furious to speak.

He bent down again and picked Loki's helmet up again. He looked at Enchessa one last time. "You are to tell Krunagh to await my return," he ordered her. "The war is not to begin until after I have spoken with - and hopefully retrieved - my brother. Is that understood?"

Enchessa still gave no response, the glow of her red eyes almost impossible to discern through the thick fog that rolled off her as her fury chilled the surrounding air to almost impossible degrees.

Yardaff knelt in the traditional Jotun gesture of respect, which she did not return. He felt slightly apprehensive about leaving her in such a state, but he turned his back, stepped into the gate, and activated it, leaving a seething Enchessa in his wake.

~o~

"Okay," Darcy said, looking at her watch; "you have now _officially_ been here for one whole year."

"And I've never been happier," Loki told her.

"Me either," she teased.

They smiled at each other.

It was just after the remnants of sunset had left the sky - about an hour or so before the time Jane had recently been shutting down her lab and going to sleep. The pseudo-almost-family of four had finished dinner about five minutes earlier; Erik was almost done cleaning up, Loki and Darcy were standing together out of his way, and Jane was sitting at her monitors.

Darcy looked at Jane and sighed. Loki understood - they all knew that she wasn't even really _looking_ at the monitors, and that her research had actually ended long ago.

"Jane?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah?" Jane replied tonelessly.

"See anything?" Darcy asked her.

"No," Jane grunted.

Loki took a step towards where Jane was sitting. "Come now, Jane, surely you can't _still_ be sulking?" he asked her. "I understand that you miss my brother, but you've had a whole year now to come to terms with the fact that he cannot return here. That may not be much time for _me_, but it _is_ a significant amount of time for _your_ kind, yes?"

He had hoped to provoke her into showing some signs of life, but Jane said nothing.

"It _is_ weird that she's still upset," Darcy muttered to Loki, stepping closer to him. "I mean, it's been more than two years since she's even _seen_ Thor. Is there, like, some weird thing that happens when a god kisses a human?"

"The Asgardians are not _gods_, Darcy," Loki replied, smiling at her. "As for the rest…" He shrugged. "I know not. To my knowledge, it has never happened before."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"I said it has never happened _before_," Loki pointed out, still smiling at her.

She giggled, smiling back. Then she looked back at Jane and sighed again.

"Well, now that the Bifrost is gone, her research is pretty much bust, too," she said after a moment.

"Was she not researching something before my brother came?" Loki asked.

"Well, yeah, she _was_," Darcy replied, "but after the whole thing with Thor, she decided to focus on wormholes, since she's actually seen them - a lot of people don't even think they exist at all. Thing is, now there's no one who can use wormholes or whatever except you, so unless you decide to go somewhere, she can't observe them anymore."

"I no longer have that ability," Loki reminded her; "I gave up that power, and have no wish to leave you."

Darcy smiled at him, but before she could say anything, Erik walked past them to speak with Jane. Loki and Darcy had agreed not to tell Erik or Jane about Loki's sacrifice until things were more okay - not only was Jane still moping, but Erik was still highly distrustful of Loki, so they were careful about saying anything within earshot that might make Erik or Jane suspicious.

"How're you doing?" Erik asked Jane, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she replied with a smile they all knew couldn't be more fake.

Erik sighed and glanced at the monitors. Then, he did a double-take.

"What the…?" He leaned closer to one of the screens, squinting.

"What is it?" Darcy asked, hurrying over.

Loki stayed back - he wasn't even going to bother _trying_ to understand whatever it was they were seeing. In fact, he sometimes felt truly daunted at the prospect of trying to understand the technology humans had invented to compensate for their painfully short lifespans…

"Uh, Jane?" Darcy asked after staring at the screen for a few seconds, a note of concern in her voice.

"Hmm?" Jane responded.

"What is _that_?" Darcy asked.

"What?" Jane asked tonelessly, not even looking up.

"_That_," Erik answered for Darcy, pointing at something. "That right there. What is that?"

Jane finally looked up. There was silence for a minute.

"A wormhole," Jane finally answered uninterestedly.

"You…maybe wanna check that out?" Darcy asked.

"What's the point?" Jane replied in a hollow tone of voice. "It's not him."

_So much for Darcy's theory that Jane is mourning her research,_ Loki thought.

"Well, it _is_ a wormhole," Darcy pointed out in response to Jane's indifference. "Somebody from some world or other is coming, or some_thing_ - don't you wanna find out what?"

"No," Jane replied, her tone still empty.

Loki, on the other hand, straightened up and walked over to them, as he suddenly got a bad feeling…

"Jane," he asked, trying to keep his voice calm, "how can you be certain that the gate isn't being used by my brother?"

Jane shrugged. "Because it's the same one you came through," she replied indifferently.

Loki's eyes widened. "Damn," he cursed under his breath; that was exactly what he'd been afraid she would say.

"Loki?" Darcy asked.

It was a mark of how dire the situation was that Loki ignored her. "How long do we have before it opens?" he asked Jane instead.

Jane didn't respond.

"Jane, _please_," Loki pleaded, actually putting a hand on her shoulder. "How long until the gate opens?"

"Oh. Uh…" Jane looked up at the screen again for a minute, fiddled with a few things Loki didn't even bother looking at, then shrugged. "I dunno," she replied; "at a guess, I'd say fifteen minutes, give or take."

"_Fifteen_ _minutes_?" Darcy exclaimed. "Jane, how could you possibly have missed this?"

"It doesn't matter," Loki said sharply, speaking to all three of them. "We need to go there, and we need to hurry."

"How come?" Erik asked, giving Loki the same distrustful glare he always directed at the former Asgardian.

"Because I came here through the gate between this realm and _Jotunheim_," Loki answered, meeting Erik's eyes. "If that gate is opening again, it's almost certain that a Jotun is headed for this realm _right_ _now_."

"And why would a Frost Giant want to come here?" Erik asked suspiciously.

"Because of me," Loki answered softly. "There is no other reason why a Jotun would come here now. Whoever is coming is most likely searching for me."

Erik's glare sharpened.

"You have my word, I did nothing intentional to cause this," Loki told him firmly, "and right now, we must get there before the gate opens, lest a Frost Giant cause a panic among humans for the first time in millennia."

"You sure it's a good idea to be there to greet them?" Darcy asked.

Loki turned to her. "If I am _not_ present when the gate opens, whoever comes through will begin searching for me, and we would have minutes at best before they came upon this town," he replied. "You tell me: What would happen then?"

"People would freak out, the cops would show up, the Feds would show up…It would pretty much be like the time you sent that giant robot to kill everyone," Darcy admitted.

Loki sighed and shook his head. "No," he said gravely; "it would be far worse than that. The Destroyer was nothing more than a weapon, with destruction as its only purpose. A Jotun, on the other hand, will not attack unless provoked, which your kind will certainly do. I know not how bullets might affect a Frost Giant, but whether or not they would do any harm, being shot at is easily recognizable as a hostile gesture, to which any Jotun will respond in kind. Many would die without there being any _need_ for bloodshed, and all because the people of this realm will by and large be quick to fear a Frost Giant's presence - too much so for there to be any reasoning with either side." He shook his head. "Why must your kind be so judgmental?" he asked exasperatedly.

Darcy shrugged. "I dunno," she replied; "why did your _dad_ have to be so judgmental?"

"Fair enough," Loki conceded. "Still, we must ensure - _I_ must ensure - that that does not come about." He turned to Jane. "Please, Jane, I need you to take me there, now," he told her.

Jane didn't respond.

"_I_ can drive you there," Darcy offered. "I was always the designated driver anyways."

"I'm sorry, Darcy, but unless you can recall _exactly_ where you drove a year ago, I need Jane's help," he told her. "We can't afford to waste time going the wrong way."

"We could just drive towards the big cloud," Darcy pointed out.

But Loki shook his head. "No," he said; "if we are not there by then, it will be too late."

"Why can't you go find it yourself?" Erik asked suspiciously.

Loki didn't hesitate. "I cannot sense the gates at a distance," he replied, technically not lying; "I need Jane's technology to guide me there." He turned to Jane again. "Please, Jane," he pleaded, "I need your help. You are the only one who can ensure that I make it to the gate in time."

Jane just closed her eyes turned her face downward.

"Jane?" Erik asked, concerned.

No response.

"Oh. My. God. Jane, _snap_ _out_ _of_ _it_!" Darcy exclaimed, shoving at Jane to get her attention.

Jane looked at Darcy wordlessly.

"Look, if Loki left and never came back, I'd be upset, too," Darcy told her, "but I wouldn't just sit here and let some big freezer guy go on a rampage-!"

"Frost Giant," Loki corrected automatically.

"_Whatever_!" Darcy shouted, still looking at Jane. "The point is, I wouldn't just sit here and let a bunch of people die! I mean, come on, Jane, what are you thinking? Do you think if things get bad enough, Thor's gonna suddenly, miraculously find a way to come and save the day? That's not going to happen! He's not coming, Jane - not because he doesn't want to, but because he _can't_! A disaster isn't gonna change that!" She looked up at Loki, but he just gave her an encouraging nod. She thought for a minute, then added, "He's probably watching you right now. Is _this_ what you want him to see? Do you really think he'd want you to let a bunch of people die just because you missed him?"

Loki smiled, and he had to restrain himself from praising Darcy's ingenuity aloud and ruining the moment. _I could not possibly have done better myself,_ he thought.

There was silence for a minute. Then, slowly, Jane nodded.

"Okay," she said softly. She stood up. "Okay," she said again, "Give me a minute to get my field kit together and we'll go."

"I'm coming, too," Erik said.

"Very well," Loki said, "but please, we must _hurry_!"

Erik went after Jane to help her without so much as a glance at Loki. Loki was used to Erik's passive-aggressive distrust and ignored him likewise, instead walking over to Darcy's side.

"That was impressive," he told her softly. "You never cease to amaze me. I could not have done it better myself."

"I only did what you taught me," Darcy replied with a shrug, smiling.

"And you did very well," Loki said.

Darcy nodded. "Do you have any idea who's coming?" she asked him.

Loki sighed. "If we are fortunate, it will be my Jotun brother, Yardaff," he replied.

"And if we're not?" Darcy asked.

"Then I may well be forced to talk down a small army," Loki answered.

Darcy's eyes widened. "Which one's more likely?" she asked.

Loki sighed. "Knowing my luck, this will not go smoothly, no matter which Jotun may arrive," he said grimly.

"Okay, but the freezer people will go away if you tell them to, right?" she asked, getting worried.

"Most likely, but I doubt it will be that simple," Loki replied; "and they are called _Frost_ _Giants_, Darcy. Honestly - by now, that mistake _must_ be deliberate."

Darcy smiled at him. "Maybe," she teased.

Loki shook his head. "We have no time for this," he told her as Jane finished getting her equipment together, and all four of them hurried out to the car.

~o~

Enchessa sprinted across the fractured, ice-covered stone, angrier than she had ever been in her life.

_How _dare_ he speak to me in such a manner?_ she thought furiously. _What's more, how could he be so foolish as to defend those monsters? And, even more than that, how dare he turn on _me_, for wanting to _rid_ the realms of those beasts?_

_I will prove it to him,_ she decided with iron-clad resolve. I_ will be the one to do what is best for our people, and for _all_ the realms, and then he will see that he was a fool to try and defend those creatures…_and_ to disrespect _me_._

Especially_ to disrespect me._

The armies of Jotun warriors that surrounded the gate to Asgard for several miles in every direction quickly parted to let her pass when they saw her. _Th__ey_ respected her. _As well they should,_ Enchessa thought scornfully.

She gracefully came to a stop before Krunagh, who was the only Jotun actually standing within the radius of the trans-realm passage. Before she said anything, she knelt in the traditional Jotun gesture of respect, which he returned.

"General Krunagh," she greeted, standing up again.

"Lady Enchessa," Krunagh replied in kind. "What news do you have for us?"

"His highness Yardaff has left for Earth to search for his brother," Enchessa replied. "He will join us as soon as he is able, hopefully with Loki Silvertongue by his side. In the meantime, we are to begin the assault on Asgard now; we've delayed the battle too long as it is."

"It is the duty of the king of Jotunheim to be the first into any battle," Krunagh said. "Even as only the acting king, Yardaff must be the first to leave for Asgard."

"He is well aware of this," Enchessa said; "however, given the numerous extenuating circumstances, he has commanded that we are to attack _now_, with no further delay. Again, he will join us as soon as he is able."

"I have only your word that this is Yardaff's command," Krunagh said, almost tonelessly.

"Do you accuse me of falsehood?" Enchessa challenged.

Krunagh said nothing, but his distrust was clear in his glowing red eyes.

"If you seek proof that this is Yardaff's will, then proof is what I shall give you," Enchessa said at last. She stood a bit taller, lifted her chin proudly, and declared, loud enough for most of the surrounding crowd to hear, "Just before he departed, Prince Yardaff told me that, upon his coronation, I am the one he will choose to rule by his side, as queen of Jotunheim. As the betrothed of the acting king of this realm, _I_ shall be the first into battle, in his stead. In the meantime…" She lowered her voice slightly. "…_I_ am the one from whom you are to take orders, general," she told Krunagh dangerously.

There was silence for a minute. Enchessa met Krunagh's piercing gaze without flinching.

Finally, Krunagh sighed. "It would seem that Loki Silvertongue would be a more fit match for you," he commented. "Still, I have nothing with which to refute your words." He inclined his head, conceding. "Very well, My Lady," he said; "let's go."

~o~

"How many times have we been driving in this car _towards_ an opening wormhole, now?" Darcy asked as Jane's car sped through the desert.

"Three," Erik grunted in reply, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him as he drove.

"Am I the only one here who gets how crazy that is?" Darcy asked.

"Most likely," Loki said stiffly; "at any rate, you are certainly the only one here to whom it _matters_."

"Hey!" Darcy exclaimed, turning to Loki.

Loki glanced at her. "My apologies," he said softly when he saw the hurt in her expression. Then, he turned his attention back to what was in front of them.

Loki was very nervous. He had surrendered his powers - everything that made him more than human - and now he had to face a Frost Giant, and a Frost Giant who most likely was coming _specifically_ to find him, at that. As a mortal, he was literally powerless - he would not even be immune to the Jotun frost touch. All he had at his disposal were his words, and though he bore the name "Silvertongue" well, he was worried how a Frost Giant might react when he told them that he had no wish to leave Earth. For that matter, since he had left Jotunheim of his own will, he had no way of knowing if whatever Jotun might be coming was enraged with him for his betrayal and abandonment of his people. He _was_ crown prince of Jotunheim, after all - or at least the first-born son of Laufey - and as such, Jotun custom demanded that he put his realm, and his people, before all else.

_Why can I not leave this all behind?_ Loki thought, both anxious and exasperated. _All I want is to live in peace in a place where I belong. Why must Jotunheim follow me wherever I go?_

"Okay, Erik, we're directly on course," Jane said from the passenger's seat, several pieces of her technology set up in her lap. "Keep going straight, and we'll be there in five minutes."

"It would be for the best if you were to stop a fair distance away from the gate," Loki spoke up. "If you are too close, I cannot guarantee your safety; and at any rate, this is something which I must face alone."

Erik said nothing, but Loki still got the sense that he had been heard.

"You okay?" Darcy asked him softly.

Loki glanced at her again. "I am worried about what the Jotuns' reasons for coming here might be," he replied. "Whoever it is _is_ coming for me, that much is certain; but are they coming to rescue me, or to punish me?"

"Punish you?" Darcy repeated questioningly. "What for?"

"For turning on them," Loki replied, looking back out the window. "The Jotuns are a close-knit society, and as priorities go, they place the well-being of each another beside their own. What's more, as the first-born son of the late king, Jotun culture dictates that I place my realm and my people _before_ all else, including myself…yet I have abandoned them. Such betrayal is a crime among Frost Giants."

"Well, tell them Odin messed you up so badly you can't live with them," Darcy said. "I mean, that _is_ why you left, right?"

"It is," Loki said, "but I doubt things will be that simple."

Darcy gave Loki an encouraging smile. "You'll be fine," she told him.

He couldn't help smiling back. "Your confidence in me overwhelming, My Lady," he teased. His smile faded as he added, "I only pray it is not misplaced, as there's no telling how many may perish if I fail."

"Hey," Darcy said, putting a hand on his arm, "chill. You'll do fine."

"'Chill'?" Loki repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "I cannot help but think that that may not be the best word to use, given the circumstances."

She laughed.

Just then, the car slowed to a stop. Loki looked up and saw that the gate was already opening, a short distance away from them.

He opened his door without any prompting from the others. "I will handle this," he told them; "as for the three of you: No matter what happens…" He looked directly at Darcy. "…_stay_ _back_," he said firmly. "Is that understood?"

He jumped out and shut the door behind him before any of them could reply, worried that he didn't have the time to wait for an answer. He ran towards the whirlwind of dust that had just touched down on the sand, arriving just in front of the gate at the same time the dust cleared, revealing a single Jotun - one Loki knew well.

"Yardaff," Loki breathed.

Yardaff stood, saw Loki, and smiled.

"Loki, my brother," he said; "I did not expect you to be here to greet me."

"I sensed that the gate was about to open," Loki said carefully; "I…was not certain that you were the one coming."

"Whatever the case may be, I thank you for sparing me the trouble of searching for you, brother," Yardaff said.

Loki nodded, trying to assess the situation. He noticed that Yardaff was holding his old helmet, though he couldn't quite tell what the reason was. Yardaff also appeared to be exuding more vapor clouds than normal, though that could have been due to the relative thickness of the atmosphere of the realm, as opposed to anger.

Yardaff sighed. "It is good to see you again, brother," he said, apparently sincerely. "I hope you have been well?"

"I have," Loki replied, nodding. "I…erm…"

Yardaff held up a hand, stopping Loki's fumbling. "There is no need to explain yourself, brother," he said; "I am well aware of why you left us."

Loki blinked. "You are?" he asked, confused.

"The night you left, I traveled to Asgard in search of answers," Yardaff told Loki. "Your cries that night were very easily heard from the throne room there." The clouds around Yardaff thickened. "The All-Father destroyed you beyond any chance of forgiveness," he snarled softly.

"Yes," Loki agreed, "he did. However, that is over and done with. I…" He hesitated, then decided he might as well say it. "I have found a home here," he told his brother. "I am no longer suffering from what the All-Father did to me."

"Brother, there is no need for you to stoop to living among mortals," Yardaff began.

"I am not stooping," Loki told Yardaff; "not anymore. Yes, I once resented the idea of living here, but that time has passed, and I've no wish to live anywhere else."

"Not even Asgard?" Yardaff asked.

Loki chuckled. "Well, we both know I cannot return to Asgard," he said.

"And if you could?" Yardaff challenged.

Loki thought. What if he _could_ return to Asgard - not only return, but have the life he'd always wished for during his years in that realm? All he'd ever wished for…If he could have it now, would he take it?

_Darcy._

"No," Loki answered; "even if I could return, I would not. I have found my place in this realm." He met Yardaff's glowing red eyes. "This is my home now, brother," he said firmly.

Yardaff shook his head. "Have you so quickly forgotten who you are?" he asked sadly.

"I choose what I am," Loki told him.

"Brother-" Yardaff began, reaching for Loki's hand.

It took Loki a minute to remember that Yardaff's frost touch would burn him, but he jumped back and pulled his hand away just in time.

Yardaff gave Loki a confused look, but before either of them could say anything, someone else beat them to it.

"Loki!"

Several things happened very fast. Without even taking the time to question her logic, Loki turned, saw Darcy running towards him, and shouted, "Darcy, stay back!" At the exact same moment, Yardaff looked up, saw Darcy, and roared, "Begone, mortal scum!" A second later, Loki saw an ice dagger fly through the air towards Darcy; a moment after that, it reached her feet, and she fell to the ground.

"_Darcy_!" Loki exclaimed, and he ran over to her.

She pushed herself up just as Loki dropped to his knees by her side.

"Darcy!" he said again, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Darcy panted. "He didn't hit me - just surprised me a little."

"Good," Loki breathed, relieved. A second later, his mind caught up with what had happened, and he glared at her. "What were you thinking?" he demanded. "I told you to stay back!"

"I thought he was gonna hurt you," Darcy replied timidly.

"He was only reaching for my hand; he has no way of knowing that I am no longer immune to his frost touch," Loki told her. "Besides which, even if he _had_ meant to harm me, what did you hope to accomplish by running out here? You're powerless!"

"I don't know what I was thinking," Darcy admitted. She glanced up, and her eyes widened; Loki didn't need to feel the chill in the air or see the frost spreading across the ground to know what was directly behind him.

"Please, brother, do not disgrace yourself with that wretch," Yardaff said to Loki.

_"That wretch"…?_

Loki's jaw clenched. He stood up and turned around, glaring at his Jotun brother. "The lady Darcy is not a wretch," he told Yardaff angrily.

"Then what, pray tell, is she?" Yardaff asked, almost mockingly.

Loki stood a bit taller, lifting his chin proudly and meeting Yardaff's red-eyed gaze without flinching. "She is my mate," he declared; "and if you wish to do her harm, you will have to go through me."

Yardaff's glowing red eyes widened, and he took a stumbling step back, as though Loki's words were a physical blow to him. "You mated with this girl?" he asked softly, as though he didn't dare to believe it.

"Yes," Loki answered firmly, unashamed.

Yardaff shook his head slowly, apparently lost for words. Then, he sank to his knees.

"This is indeed a tragic moment in Jotun history," he said softly. "My own elder brother, the first-born son of King Laufey, reduced to dallying with mortals…" He shook his head again. "Oh, how our father would weep if he could see this day," he said mournfully.

"Well, he isn't," Loki said. "As for myself, as I said, I choose what I am. I choose this realm, I choose this life, and I choose Darcy."

Yardaff said nothing more and closed his eyes - the corners of which, Loki noticed, had begun to leak a thick, black sludge. Jotun tears, perhaps?

"Now then, brother," Loki said after a moment, "you say you are aware of why I left Jotunheim, and why I cannot live there, so tell me: Why have you come? What did you hope to achieve once you found me?"

Yardaff opened his eyes again. "I came here," he told Loki, "to offer you your rightful place among us-"

"Brother, I cannot-" Loki started to interrupt.

"-in battle," Yardaff finished.

Loki blinked. "Battle?" he repeated, confused.

Yardaff stood again. "As I told you, I heard your cries from the throne room of Asgard that night," he told Loki. "I watched you helplessly shout prayers of justice against the All-Father to the skies, prayers you thought would never be answered. I swore, that night, that _I_ would see them answered, no matter the cost…and the time has come for that promise to be fulfilled. Tonight, our people march to war with Asgard once again, and we will not stop until the All-Father has paid for his crimes with his life."

"War…? No," Loki said quickly, shaking his head; "no, no, no, no, no, no, no - I appreciate the gesture, but there is no need for that."

"War is the only answer," Yardaff stated. "We asked to resolve the issue peacefully, without unnecessary bloodshed, but both the All-Father and the Asgardian king refused."

Loki blinked again, then gave a disbelieving laugh. "Don't tell me that you went into Asgard and _politely_ asked the All-Father's permission to kill him?" he asked incredulously.

Yardaff nodded. "I did," he said, matter-of-factly; "I and two others."

"And I presume he laughed at you?" Loki asked, making it more of a statement than a question and still on the verge of laughter himself.

"No," Yardaff replied. "However, he did refuse, and contemptuously."

"I could have told you myself that such a request would be made in vain," Loki said; "the All-Father feels no shame for his actions."

"I am aware of that," Yardaff said, "which is why he will never be forgiven. We will begin our assault on Asgard tonight, and we will not stop until the All-Father has been slain."

Loki shook his head again. "I would not mourn Odin's death," he said, "but war will mean many, _many_ innocent lives lost - dozens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands! Both your realm _and_ theirs will pay dearly if you go to war, and there is no need for that." He sighed. "Please, brother, if this is for me, then call it off," he begged Yardaff. "I am telling you to call it off - I've no wish for more people to suffer or die because of the way Odin treated me. Though I'll never forgive him, I am able to put the past behind me; I beg of you to do the same. Please, do not do this for me."

Yardaff inclined his head. "Very well," he said, "we will not do this for you."

Loki breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could thank his brother, Yardaff added, "We will do it for ourselves."

Loki blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Brother, your suffering at the All-Father's hands has been great," Yardaff said; "to my knowledge, it has been far more than anyone in the history of the nine realms has ever been forced to endure before. However, you have not suffered alone. Our king dead, half our realm destroyed, countless Jotun lives lost, millennia of bitterness between us and the other realms - these, too, are the All-Father's doing. The cruelty with which he treated you would be enough offense on its own, but given all that he has done to _all_ of us, we can no longer stand back and allow the All-Father to go on thus. He must die. In the name of all of our people, and for _all_ the people of the nine realms, he must die; and so long as a single Jotun lives on, the battle that begins tonight will not end until he does."

"Is there nothing I can say that would stop this?" Loki asked.

"No, brother, there is nothing you can say," Yardaff replied.

Loki closed his eyes and bowed his head. He didn't want this to happen - all he wanted was for it to be over and done with. No one else had to die…

"You are, of course, welcome to join us, brother," Yardaff added after a moment. "Our goal is to destroy the All-Father, and we shall only kill as many as we must to achieve that aim, so you needn't concern yourself with spilling more blood than you wish to. What's more, as you are the one who has suffered the most, by rights, it ought to be you who takes the All-Father's life."

Loki looked up at his brother again. "No," he said firmly. "I've no wish for this to happen at all, and I _certainly_ have _no_ desire to take part in it myself." He sighed. "My place is here, far away from all this madness," he told Yardaff. "I've no wish to have anything further to do with the other realms, nor for there to be any further bloodshed, save for Odin's."

Yardaff sighed. "Very well, brother," he said. "If this is truly the life you desire, it is not my place to demand otherwise. At the very least, you had the right to know that Odin and his son will pay with their lives for your suffering." He knelt in the traditional Jotun gesture of respect. "Farewell, brother," he said. Then he stood and turned back towards the gate.

"Wait," Loki suddenly blurted.

Yardaff stopped and looked back.

"His son?" Loki repeated. "You mean Thor?"

"The son of Odin has taken his father's side in this conflict, though he still has the audacity to refer to you as his brother," Yardaff said; "he, too, must perish."

"No," Loki said, stepping towards Yardaff. "No, no, no, please, I beg of you - I've no objection to the All-Father's death, but is there not some way Thor can be spared? He never meant to hurt me; any grief I ever suffered because of him was caused entirely by his own ignorance! He does not need to die for this!"

Yardaff said nothing for a moment. Loki waited, trying to silently plead with his eyes for Yardaff to show some mercy.

"So long as the son of Odin stands between us and his father, he must die," the Jotun prince told Loki at last. "We will slay all those who must fall in order for us to reach and destroy the All-Father."

Loki was silent for a second, his mind racing; this changed things.

"Very well, then," he said suddenly; "I will join you."

Yardaff turned back around to face Loki fully. "You will?" he asked.

Loki swallowed nervously but nodded. "Yes," he replied. "I will _not_ take part in the overall battle, mind you, but…Thor is a great warrior, and as weapons go, Mjolnir holds no equal - all of you would easily fall before him, and he would not hesitate in the least to destroy you. I was his brother once; _me_, he will hesitate to attack. Therefore, I will confront him for you, and ensure that he does not stand in your way."

Yardaff tilted his head. "Just as you were once his brother, so too was he once yours," he said slowly. "Would you truly be able to bring yourself to raise your hand to him now?"

"I've no personal wish for Thor to come to any harm," Loki admitted; "however, if nothing I can say would prevent all of your people from deliberately aiming to kill him, then no matter the outcome of this war, one whom I call 'brother' will perish because of me…and if I _must_ lose a brother, I would far rather it be he than you. So yes; I will do what I must, if only because the alternative would be even more difficult to bear." By the time he was finished, his voice held no hint of hesitance or doubt.

Yardaff smiled. "Thank you, brother," he said, and he reached out his hand to Loki.

Loki took a step back. "I _will_ join you, brother," he said, "but I am afraid it will not be so simple. As I told you, I choose what I am…and, to that end, I made myself mortal not long ago, so that I could truly belong in this realm."

Yardaff's eyes widened.

"This is not irreversible," Loki reassured him before he could speak; "however, it will take some time. Go on; I will join you as soon as I am able."

Yardaff thought for a minute.

"I will wait for you, brother," he said at last.

"No, brother, by all means, go on and join the battle now," Loki said. "There's no need for you to stay, and-"

"I will wait for you, brother," Yardaff repeated firmly.

They looked at each other silently for a moment. Then, Loki inclined his head. "Very well," he conceded; "I shall return as soon as I can."

Yardaff nodded.

Loki turned around and held his hand out to Darcy, who was still on the ground. "Come on, Darcy," he said softly, helping her up. He was careful to stand protectively in the way of Yardaff's view of her as they walked back to the car.


	17. Chapter 17

Erik jumped out of the car just in time to block Loki and Darcy as they took the ten-second walk back.

"What the hell was that about?" he demanded of Darcy.

"Like you care," Darcy sneered, much to Loki's surprise.

"There's no time for this," Loki told them sharply, sensing an argument.

"And why not?" Erik asked Loki.

"I'll explain on the way," Loki said shortly. As he spoke, Darcy walked over to the passenger-side door, reached up, and knocked on the window.

"Hey, Jane!" she called.

The window rolled down, and Jane looked out. "Yeah?" she asked.

"We need to get to the old Bifrost site - you know, the place where you ran into Thor with this thing," Darcy said, tapping the car. "How long do you need before you can figure out how to get there?"

Jane was silent for a moment, and Loki walked over to join Darcy.

"I know where it is," Jane finally replied. "I know…_exactly_ where it is."

"From memory?" Loki asked.

"Yeah," Jane said, sounding downcast.

"Then you ought to drive," Loki told her; "if you won't need any references, you'll be able to get me there faster, and we mustn't waste time."

"Why do we need to go there, anyway?" Jane asked in a hollow voice.

"I'll explain on the way," Loki answered as Darcy got in the back of the car. "I'll tell you this much now, though: It's about Thor."

Loki was barely out of the way in time to avoid getting hit by Jane opening her door. He climbed in back as she ran around to the driver's side and jumped in without saying so much as a word to Erik.

"That was low," Darcy muttered to Loki as Erik resignedly got in the passenger's seat.

"How so?" Loki asked quietly. "It's true."

"Just saying…" Darcy murmured as Jane restarted the car and immediately began speeding for the old Bifrost site.

"Alright, so what's going on?" Erik asked Loki sharply.

"Yeah, what are you planning?" Darcy asked. "I mean…" She chuckled nervously. "you're not _really_ going to go kill Thor, are you?"

"_What_?" Jane exclaimed, turning around without taking her foot off the gas pedal.

"Of course not!" Loki answered Darcy. "What sort of monster do you mistake me for?"

"Just making sure," Darcy said.

"Jane, please watch where you're going," Erik said to Jane.

"Right, sorry," Jane said, turning back around.

"It's just that you told that freezer guy-" Darcy began.

"_Frost_ _Giant_," Loki corrected.

"Whatever," Darcy said dismissively; "it's just that you said you were going to kill Thor, so…"

"Did I?" Loki asked with a wry smile. "As _I_ recall, I only told Yardaff I was going to ensure that my brother did not stand in his way; I never specifically said _how_ I was going to go about doing that."

Slowly, Darcy smiled. "_Oh_, I see," she said.

"Who did you say that thing was?" Erik asked Loki.

Loki sighed and turned to face Erik. "The Frost Giant who came here is my Jotun brother, Yardaff Laufeysson," he said. "With his father dead, and me being here, he is currently the king of Jotunheim, or so I presume."

"And what did he want?" Erik asked.

Loki sighed again. "The night I first came to this realm, I took a bit of time to…ah…"

"Blow off some steam?" Darcy suggested.

Loki nodded. "More or less," he replied. "Whatever the case, I said some things I'd been wanting to say to Odin for a while, not the least of which being that I hope he will one day suffer as I did. What I could not have known was that Yardaff would hear those words as well."

"Why not?" Erik asked.

"Just as Odin can see everything with his one eye, so too can those in the throne room of Asgard," Loki answered. "My Jotun brother, it seems, went to Asgard the night I left, hoping that someone there might know my whereabouts; thus, he was able to hear me when I spoke. Mind you, it was primarily because I spoke from the entrance to the gate between this realm and Asgard that my words were audible to all who stood in the throne room." He sighed again. "At any rate, Yardaff heard my words, and it seems they were cause enough for him to declare war against Asgard once again, this time with the aim being to destroy the All-Father. He came here give me the opportunity to join the battle."

"And are you?" Erik asked.

"At first, I had no wish to go with him; in fact, I've no wish to take part in _any_ more battles ever again," Loki went on. "I told my Jotun brother as much, but then he told me that the Frost Giants' aim is not only to kill Odin, but also to kill Thor, so long as he stands in their way." He shook his head. "I cannot allow that to happen," he stated. "Yardaff claims that every Frost Giant in all of Jotunheim is going to participate in this battle, and if my brother is forced to fight every Jotun in existence…well, either he would be victorious, and the Jotuns would all be destroyed, including my brother; or he would be defeated, and perish. Either way, I would lose a brother. Mind you, I don't wish for this war to happen at all - I've no wish to force more people to suffer for the All-Father's actions - but I could bear the knowledge without getting involved; however, knowing that at least one whom I call 'brother' will die if I don't act, and because of me…I cannot allow that to happen."

"So what's your plan?" asked Darcy.

"More importantly, if this war is all about you, and you don't want it to happen, why don't you just tell him so?" asked Erik.

"To answer _your_ question, Erik, I did," Loki told Erik. "The Jotuns form a close-knit society, the likes of which I've never heard of elsewhere; to them, the well-being of their fellows is as important to any of them as their own. While I may have been the one most injured by Odin's actions, what he did to me is something that all of the Frost Giants have taken personal offense to. As a result, if they will not fight this war for me, they will fight it for themselves - their honor system allows nothing less. There is nothing I can do to prevent this, though I wish with all my heart that I could." He sighed, then turned to Darcy. "To answer _your_ question, Darcy…Well, as you yourself heard, the Jotuns will only seek to destroy Thor so long as he stands and fights in Odin's defense. So, my plan…is to talk him out of fighting."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"Is…that even possible?" Darcy finally asked.

"I hope so," Loki replied; "if it is not, then all will be lost. I will have to do my very best, and pray that the change that you, Jane, invoked in him, was enough to make it possible." He directed these last words at Jane, who didn't respond.

"You can do it," Darcy told Loki. "I know you can. You're Loki Silvertongue - if anyone can do it, it's you."

"Your confidence in me is overwhelming," Loki said, but he didn't smile. The fact was, he was nervous about facing his Asgardian brother to try and talk him out of battle - it would be no small task, and he was still trying to come up with ways he might be able to do it. His mind was racing, but so far, he didn't have much. Unless…

"My brother would be unable to stand by and watch a battle transpire without taking part," Loki said, more to himself than to any of the humans with him; "if, however, I can take him _away_ from the battle - away from Asgard - the only issue would be convincing him to go."

"And where would you take him?" Darcy asked; Loki heard the smile in her voice.

He looked at her and smiled widely back. "Here," he replied. "Where else could I bring him but here?"

Darcy nodded. "Sounds like a plan," she said.

"Indeed it does," Loki agreed. He turned to Jane again. "Jane, would it be alright with you if I use your name against my brother, to convince him to come with me?"

"Huh?" Jane asked, glancing back at him. "Oh, yeah, sure."

"Jane, are you listening to this?" Darcy asked her. "Loki's going to go and get Thor for you!"

"More for himself than for her," Loki commented, "but yes."

"Alright," Erik said, "and what does any of this have to do with the old Bifrost site?"

Loki's elation at coming up with a viable plan vanished, and his smile faded. He hesitated, trying to think of a way he could answer without saying too much…

"While we're on the subject," Darcy suddenly said slyly to Loki, "what was it you told your brother I was - your mate? What, like we're animals or something?"

Loki couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. He turned to Darcy again and smiled at her. "That is simply the Jotun term," he told her; "on Asgard, you would be called my consort." He thought for a moment. "Tell me," he said, "what is the term that would be used in this realm?"

"Girlfriend," Jane spoke up, apparently listening.

"Actually, I think 'wife' would be a more accurate translation," Darcy said.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her.

"_What_?" she asked defensively. "I can use big words too, you know!"

Loki shook his head and chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, my darling," he told Darcy.

Predictably, she giggled and blushed. Loki had actually never called her that before - in fact, he didn't plan on calling her that again; the only reason he called her that now was to have a little extra fun with Erik, who was looking back and forth between the two of them, slack-jawed with disbelief.

"_You_ _two_?" Erik finally managed to exclaim.

Loki and Darcy looked at him.

"Yeah," Darcy said with a shrug.

"Oh, _Darcy_, _no_," Erik groaned exasperatedly. "_Really_? _Him_?"

"_Yes_," Darcy repeated coolly, "not that it's really any of _your_ business."

"Oh, _come_ _on_, Darcy," Erik said, "I know you're not _this_ stupid! Er, I mean-"

Darcy's eyes widened indignantly. "Okay, three things," she snapped, cutting Erik off before he could fumble any further with an apology: "Number one, just because I'm not an astrophysicist like Jane doesn't mean I'm a moron! Number two, since when is it any of your business who I'm with? And number three, _what is your problem, Erik_?" she shouted.

Erik blinked.

"Loki has been nothing but nice since he came here!" Darcy went on furiously. "He hasn't tried to hurt anyone or do anything bad! He's done nothing but try his best to be a part of this pathetic, messed-up excuse for a group since day one, which you'd know if you'd forget the stupid myths for a second and _give him a goddamn chance_!"

"Darcy," Loki said softly, "that's enough."

She whipped her head around to look at him. "Wh-?"

"I appreciate your standing up for me - truly, I do," Loki told her gently; "but that's enough."

"Don't you start defending me," Erik growled at Loki.

Loki looked at him. "I am not defending you," he said calmly; "I am putting a stop to this before it turns into an argument we don't have time for."

Erik closed his eyes and shook his head with a sigh. "Alright, just tell me this much," he said resignedly: "How long have you two been sneaking around behind my back?"

"Behind your back?" Loki repeated, chuckling with disbelief at the words. "You've hardly deigned to turn your gaze upon me for more than a minute at a time since I first came to this realm, and those minutes have been few and far between - it would have been difficult for me to _not_ do things 'behind your back'."

"Yeah, the only way you could have known was if we'd told you," Darcy picked up, "which we didn't because one, we figured you'd freak out - kind of like you are now - and two…"

"And _most_ _importantly_," Loki inserted.

Darcy nodded agreement with Loki's input, then finished, "because Jane was still upset, and we didn't want to rub salt in a wound."

"Jane, I apologize," Loki said, addressing Jane directly; "I didn't wish to cause you any more pain."

There was a pause for a second. Then Jane said, "Look, if you bring Thor back, no hard feelings."

"Fair enough," Loki said; "thank you."

"Yeah, sure," Jane said absentmindedly, focusing on her driving.

"And _what_ does this have to do with the old Bifrost site?" Erik asked tiredly.

Loki took a breath. "I left something there, a while ago, that I will need if I am to return to Asgard," he told Erik. "You see, Erik…all I ever wanted to find someplace where I could belong, and here, I have found that place. So I gave up my powers, in order to truly belong."

_That_ got Erik's attention. "You did _what_?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"I gave up my powers," Loki repeated, meeting his gaze; "everything that made me more than human is gone, sealed away at the old Bifrost site, where I buried them. For all intents and purposes, as of right now, I am only a man." He sighed. "Of course, if I am to find my brother on a battlefield on Asgard and spirit him away, I will need my power; so, once we get there, I will take my powers back, so that I can save him. Once this is all over with, I will surrender my powers once more, and pray that I will never be forced to take them back again."

Erik stared at Loki, apparently rendered speechless. Loki said nothing, meeting Erik's eyes evenly.

"So…you like Earth that much, huh?" Erik finally asked.

Loki chuckled, not too kindly. "Don't be ridiculous," he said; "I could no more belong in this realm than I could on Asgard or in Jotunheim. It is not this _realm_ where I belong - where I belong is with Darcy."

Loki didn't have to look to see the smirk on Darcy's face. "In other words, Erik," she inserted, "he gave up his powers for _me_. Isn't that nice?"

Erik looked back and forth between the two of them for a minute.

"Yeah," he finally muttered, turning away from both of them to look out the windshield. "Nice."

Loki and Darcy looked at each other and smiled. For a minute, everything was quiet.

Then Darcy's smile turned sly, and she asked Loki, "So what are you _really_ up to?"

Loki blinked, his smile faltering. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

Darcy chuckled. "You're not really going all the way to Asgard just to save Thor, are you?" she asked him.

"Of course I am," Loki replied, perplexed by her question. "Why do you doubt that?"

"I said, you're not going all the way there _just_ to save him," Darcy clarified. "Maybe that's _part_ of why you're going, but there's something else you're doing, too. Isn't there?"

For a minute, Loki looked at her silently. Then, slowly, he smiled.

"You know me far too well," he said to her.

Her smile widened.

He nodded, still smiling. "Yes, there is something else," he admitted. "Mind you, I _do_ aim to save my brother, and I would be going even if I had no other motive than that."

"_But_…?" Darcy asked teasingly.

Loki chuckled. "_But_, there is an added benefit for me to take Thor from Asgard," he said; "not only will he be out of harm's way, but Mjolnir will be removed from this battle."

Darcy tilted her head questioningly.

Loki sighed again. "The truth is, I want the Jotuns to win this war," he confessed. "They were always the wronged party in this affair, and it's high time they won back what they deserve. What's more, I…would be…not unhappy, if the All-Father were to be slain at last. After all that he's done - to me, to my family, to the Jotuns, and to all the nine realms - he _does_ deserve to pay with his life, and I _hope_ he does." A bit of anger crept into his voice as he spoke. "Mjolnir is a weapon that holds no equal," he went on; "with my brother wielding Mjolnir against the Frost Giants in this battle, there is a chance that they will fall. If, on the other hand, Mjolnir is _not_ used against them in this battle, then they will almost certainly be victorious."

"So you're getting Thor out of harm's way _and_ out of the way of the freezer people," Darcy said; "him and Mjolnir. Is that it?"

Loki looked at her for a minute.

"They're called Frost Giants, Darcy," he said at last; "and yes, I plan to make sure that they and my brother do not pose a hazard to one another." He paused again, then added, "What was it you said I was trying to get out of the way? My brother and _what_?"

"Mjolnir," Darcy repeated. "You know, that thing you were just talking about."

Loki gave her a weird look. "It's pronounced 'Mee-_ohl_-neer'," he told her (the way she was saying it sounded like 'myeh-myeh').

"That's what I said," Darcy said.

Loki closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face.

"It's a hard word to pronounce, okay?" Darcy said defensively.

Loki sighed heavily again. "Oh, all right," he said; "we have much more pressing matters anyway."

"Speaking of which, we're here," Jane piped up about half a second before she slammed on the brakes. The car, which had been driving across the sand as fast as was feasible, gave an enormous lurch, and all four of the occupants were jolted hard.

Loki didn't bother waiting for the car to settle to a stop; he opened the door and jumped out, rolling across the sand a couple of times before catching himself and pushing himself to his feet, running before he even fully stood up.

He looked up at the sky as he passed the car. He had nothing to go by but the relatively few stars that were visible to his humanized eyesight, but it looked like the right place. At any rate, he had no time to question Jane's navigation.

It took him about one second of running to realize that the stars were going to be of little use to him, since he couldn't see anything else in the sky, and he instead turned his attention to the ground in front of him, searching for the mound of sand he had left behind. Unfortunately, two months of desert wind had significantly worn it down, and for a minute, Loki panicked, worried that he wouldn't be able to find it. Then, suddenly, he tripped on some loose ground.

He barely managed to avoid face-planting in the sand, instead catching himself with his hands, scraping them on the ground. He ignored the sting and turned around to look at the spot he'd tripped on. Sure enough, it was a slight rise in the dirt, and a bit looser than the relatively hard-packed ground around him.

Loki dove at the spot and started digging, ignoring the burning on his hands and arms from the scrapes he'd taken while falling. _The scratches will heal when I have my power back,_ he reminded himself; _right now, I need to hurry._

"Loki," Darcy suddenly said from beside him. "You need any help?"

He glanced over at her. "Stand back," he told her. "As soon as I come in contact with my old clothes, I'll get my powers back; I don't know what might happen then."

"Oh, right," Darcy said, apparently remembering how Thor had turned into a lightning storm upon regaining his powers. Loki heard her take a few steps back, but he didn't really register the sound as he clawed at the ground frantically, digging down instead of out, knowing that he really only had to get one finger on his old clothes right now, and that it would be easier to do the rest afterwards.…How deep had he dug this hole, anyway? Surely, it hadn't been _this_ deep…

The sand under his fingers started to feel extremely cold, and little wisps of mist started rising from the hole he was making. _Almost there…_

Finally, he felt his fingertips brush against something other than sand at the bottom of the hole he was digging.

In an instant, his powers surged through him from the point of contact. He gasped at the sudden, tremendous inrush of energy, and then…

Everything was still.

For a moment, he worried that something had gone wrong. Then, he registered what he was feeling, and he smiled.

All around him, energy shifted and flowed, ready for him to command. He closed his eyes and focused, and he felt that the ice buried deep in his marrow had returned. The stings from his scratches were gone, and when he opened his eyes again and looked, even the skin of his palms was unscathed.

He couldn't lie to himself; he'd missed this feeling. The universe around him felt _alive_. _He_ felt alive.

He reached into the hole again and grasped the fold of fabric that he'd manage to reach. With a little burst of magic helping him, he pulled the entire bundle he'd buried out of the ground in one almost-unhindered movement.

He brushed some of the sand off. Fortunately, neither the fabric nor the metal was any worse for the wear. That was good; he was going to need his old clothes if he was going to show his face on Asgard…

"Loki?"

Loki turned his head back to look at Darcy.

"Is everything okay?" she called, sounding worried. "Did it work?"

"Of course it did," he muttered in her ear.

She jumped, yelping with surprise at his sudden appearance behind her.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry," he said; "I couldn't resist."

"That's fine," Darcy said faintly, catching her breath. Then, she chuckled too and added, "I should've known you'd pull that one on me."

He smiled at her.

"But really?" she went on. "That's it? You're back to being all-powerful again, just like that?"

"I am not _all-powerful_, Darcy," Loki chuckled; "far from it."

"Okay, but, like, Thor kinda exploded when he got _his_ power back," Darcy said.

"My brother is a warrior and a show-off, and does everything in excess," Loki told her.

They both smiled, remembering the last time he'd said that.

"So, what do you need those for?" Darcy asked, gesturing to the clothes he was trying to shake some of the sand out of.

He smiled at her. "Well, I could hardly show my face on Asgard dressed like _this_," he said, gesturing to the human clothes he was wearing; "I'd feel like a freak."

She laughed.

Loki turned to where Jane and Erik were standing back by the car and walked over to them.

"So now what?" Jane asked him.

"Well, first, I need to change," Loki replied. "Then I must return to where Yardaff waits. Don't worry about navigating the way back; I can find it."

"I thought you said you couldn't sense the gates from a distance," Erik said.

Loki looked at him. "I couldn't," he said; "that is, not at the time when I said that."

Erik rolled his eyes angrily but was thankfully silent.

Loki turned back to Jane. "Once I leave, you'll need to return to your lab," he told her; "I'm afraid we don't have time for me to show you where the gate between Asgard and Earth lies, so you're going to have to use your technology to locate me and my brother when we arrive."

"Okay," Jane said; "is that it?"

Loki nodded. "That's it."

~o~

Enchessa and Krunagh arrived on Asgard just outside the palace's armory, as always. They had expected this; it would be difficult, they knew, for the war to be waged _within_ the palace walls, but there was presumably no help for it.

As soon as they arrived, Enchessa turned to the vault's entrance, meaning to take the Ice Casket right away. She found herself blocked, however, by a wall that had not been there before, and which could not be bypassed.

"They have been preparing for us," Krunagh observed.

"So it would seem," Enchessa said, running one hand over the wall. She turned to Krunagh. "Mjolnir's power had a part in this wall's construction," she told him; "I cannot breach it with my magic."

"Then we had better go onwards to battle without further delay," Krunagh said.

Enchessa smiled wickedly; this was the day she'd always been waiting for, Ice Casket or no Ice Casket. "Agreed," she hissed, and she ran up the steps towards the palace main, Krunagh behind her. A second later, however, they ran into another wall.

The two Jotuns were stymied for a moment. Then, Enchessa smiled.

"I see," she said; "they mean to rout us. No doubt the only available passages will lead us outside the palace, to where their armies await." She laughed softly. "_Good_," she said with a feral smile; "it would be a pity if we could not stain the ground of this realm with Asgardian blood in a true battle." She started to head down the available route.

"Enchessa," Krunagh said, stopping her.

She turned back to him. "Yes?" she asked the battle-scarred old Frost Giant.

"Everything you said to me just before we left was a lie, wasn't it?" he said; it was more of a statement than a question.

Enchessa chuckled. "What do you intend to do if I tell you it was?" she taunted.

"Nothing," Krunagh answered; "things have been set into motion now, and I am powerless to stop them. I would simply have you tell me the truth before we go to battle."

"You have no need of me to tell you, it would seem," Enchessa said mockingly; "now let us not waste any more time." She turned away again. "This day has been too long in coming as it is."

She sprinted away, taking the route outlined by the blockades that had been built with Mjolnir's power to route the Jotun armies, and Krunagh followed. Behind them, the first group of Jotun warriors arrived, and they followed Krunagh without the need for direction; they had planned the arrival of their troops in the group sizes limited by the size of the gate, so each cluster was given one half of a minute before the next group arrived. The result was a stream of Jotuns, as continuous as possible, who flowed single-mindedly through the exterior halls of the palace and outside to the battlefield where the Asgardian armies waited. With Enchessa and Krunagh heading the Jotun charge, the two armies clashed on the limited ground outside the central palace of Asgard, and Jotun and Asgardian blood began to spatter the earth.

The final battle between Asgard and Jotunheim had begun.

~o~

True to his word, Yardaff was still waiting at the gate to Jotunheim when Loki returned. Jane stopped the car a short distance away, about as far as last time.

Loki climbed out without a word. He was once again clad as an Asgardian. Though it had only been a year - which was almost nothing to him - the old clothes were uncomfortable on him, as they reminded him of the cruel life he'd left behind.

He tried to close the door behind him, only for Darcy to force herself through before he could do so.

"Darcy," he said, "you _must_ know you cannot join me."

"Don't we at least get to say goodbye?" Darcy asked.

"There's no need," Loki replied; "I won't be long."

Darcy just looked at him sadly.

He smiled and put his arms around her. "Darcy, you have my word, I _will_ return, and soon," he told her.

Darcy smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, no offense, but Thor kinda made Jane the same promise-"

"And if all goes as planned, he will keep it," Loki said firmly, cutting her off; "as will I."

"And what if things _don't_ go as planned?" Darcy asked.

Loki chuckled. "The one time a plan of mine has gone completely awry, it ended up succeeding where my original plan would have failed," he told her.

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything," Darcy said, still clearly worried.

Loki sighed. "Darcy, look at me," he said, putting his finger under her chin and tilting her face up slightly so she would look him in the eye.

She met his gaze but said nothing.

"I have lived for over two thousand years, and I've travelled across the nine realms," he told her, "and after all I've seen and done, all the people I've met and all the places I've been, only one place in the universe has ever felt like home to me, and that place is by your side. _Nothing_ could prevent me from returning to you." And he meant it. He really did.

Darcy closed her eyes but nodded. Loki smiled again and kissed her quickly.

"Don't worry," he told her softly; "I'll be back soon."

Darcy gave something between a sob and a laugh. "You're getting so good at talking normally," she told him.

"You've been a good teacher," he bantered.

She smiled. "Just be careful, okay?" she pleaded.

"I will," he promised.

"Okay," she said.

He smiled at her again, then stepped back and turned away from her to where his Jotun brother waited. In spite of what he'd said to Darcy, Loki couldn't deny that he was a bit nervous as he approached the Frost Giant.

"Are you ready to go now, brother?" Yardaff asked him.

"I am," Loki answered with a nod, and he held out his hand.

Yardaff gave Loki his helmet. Loki took a breath, then put it on. It had only been two years, but the weight on his head felt uncomfortably restricting. He gave no sign of this, though, as he stepped to his brother's side. The gate opened, and with one last glance towards his mortal family, Loki left Earth for Jotunheim.


	18. Chapter 18

Traveling between realms was just as awesome of an experience as Loki remembered. It was also just as brief, and in seconds, Loki and Yardaff were standing side-by-side in Jotunheim.

Loki couldn't suppress a sigh as he looked around at the dark, icy landscape.

"I never thought I would see this dreary place again," he muttered.

"You find our realm dreary, brother?" Yardaff asked as he started walking.

"I do," Loki admitted as he started walking with his Jotun brother. He looked up at him. "Don't you?" he asked.

"Nay," Yardaff replied. "On the contrary; our realm is a beautiful place in my eyes."

"Well, I suppose you _were_ raised here," Loki said.

The two of them walked in silence for a moment. Then Yardaff said, "You may not have been raised here, but you _were_ raised to live above mortal standards."

"True," Loki agreed. "Although that said, I _did_ find Earth disagreeable as well, at first."

"'_At first_'…" Yardaff repeated.

Loki sighed. "It is not a bad way of life, brother," he told Yardaff. "Different, yes, but humans manage with what they have, and even they can find things to be happy about in life."

"Brother, there is no need for you to degrade yourself-" Yardaff began.

"Enough," Loki said, holding up a hand to stop his brother. "I know it may seem strange to you, but from my perspective, I am not 'degrading' myself by living on Earth. In truth, I am far happier there than I've ever been anywhere else in the universe."

"With a mortal girl for a mate," Yardaff said disdainfully.

"Yes," Loki said matter-of-factly.

Yardaff shook his head. "Come now, brother," he said incredulously, "you can't possibly be in any way content with a _mortal_ girl. There's no need for you to stoop so low."

Loki chuckled, surprising the Jotun prince. "You shouldn't judge someone based on their race alone," he told Yardaff. He paused, then added, "A lesson the All-Father would have done well to learn."

"It's not the same," Yardaff insisted.

"How not?" Loki challenged. "Mortals may not live even a hundredth of the time you or I would, but they do the best they can with the time they are given."

"A _mortal_ _girl_, Loki," Yardaff said, as though those words were argument enough.

"That's all you know about her," Loki pointed out; "it's not enough for you to judge her."

Yardaff sighed exasperatedly. "Brother, I simply cannot understand why you would choose a mortal girl for a mate, regardless of what else she may be," he said.

"Because I love her," Loki answered simply.

"_Why_?" Yardaff asked. "What could a mortal girl possibly have that would win you?"

"A silver tongue to match mine, the courage to treat me like an equal even at the height of my power, and a heart that can forgive me for my past atrocities and care for me as though I never committed them, to name but a few things," Loki answered.

Yardaff shook his head again but said nothing more.

The two brothers continued on in silence. After a couple of minutes, however, Loki started to get the sense that Yardaff was becoming edgy; the Frost Giant's pace started to pick up subtly, and when Loki looked over at him, he saw that the Jotun's eyes were flitting around restlessly.

"Brother, what troubles you?" Loki asked.

Yardaff stopped abruptly. "When I left to retrieve you, our armies were assembled around the gate to Asgard," he told Loki; "we should have met with them by now."

"Perhaps they went ahead?" Loki suggested.

"No," Yardaff replied; "I commanded that no one leave for Asgard until I had returned. As acting king of Jotunheim, it is my duty to be the first into battle; no one should have gone ahead of us."

_That would have been nice to know earlier,_ Loki thought - he had felt rushed when Yardaff had told him of the war because he had been under the impression that the battle had already begun. _Then again, I suppose it doesn't matter, if the Jotuns have already gone ahead regardless._

He was about to say something about the Jotun assembly not being there when Yardaff suddenly cursed under his breath.

"Enchessa," he hissed.

Loki blinked.

"I suppose it's my own fault, for not anticipating this," Yardaff muttered, apparently to himself. "But it had needed to be said…"

"Pardon me, brother," Loki said, "but what does Lady Enchessa have to do with your armies having gone ahead of you?"

"I left the instruction to wait with her," Yardaff answered. "She must have lied. I know not what she might have said to convince Krunagh to go against tradition, but-"

"Krunagh?" Loki asked; he hadn't heard that name before.

"My general," Yardaff explained; "he served as second-in-command to our father in the great wars of old, and so too is he to serve as my general in this battle."

"Then why did you not leave your instructions with him?" Loki asked, still very confused.

"Enchessa was the one who found the gate to Earth so that I might retrieve you," Yardaff told Loki. "She alone guided me to it - she was the last to see me before I left."

"And why would she have lied about your instructions?" Loki asked.

Yardaff sighed heavily. "The Lady Enchessa is not what most of our people believe her to be," he said, much to Loki's surprise. "Ever since I declared that we would do everything in our power to avenge you, our race, and our realm, she has shown a lust for battle that would better become an Asgardian than a Jotun."

Loki gasped in surprise at Yardaff's words - he knew from the year he had spent in Jotunheim that to say a Jotun was in any way similar to an Asgardian was the highest possible insult among Frost Giants.

"Her arrogance and condescending attitude towards her fellow Jotuns have also been…distasteful," Yardaff went on, "and I suppose that has always been the case, though most chose to overlook it - myself included, I'll admit. Just before I went to retrieve you, though, I was forced to come to terms with the fact that she…would not be a good queen of our realm. I saw fit to tell her of her faults; in hindsight, I should have waited." He paused, apparently thinking.

Loki was stunned. Just a year ago, he remembered, Yardaff had been in love with Enchessa; this was quite a change of heart.

After a minute, Yardaff sighed heavily. "She has committed treason of the highest order, betrayed our realm, and disgraced our legacy," he said gravely. "I suppose I have no choice…" He turned to Loki, as though only just remembering that his brother was there. "Loki, my dear brother," he said, "when we reach Asgard, it is of course vital that you confront the son of Odin…but before you do, I ask that you please come with me first, so that I may attend to this matter."

"How would I be able to help?" Loki asked, puzzled.

"You will understand once it is done," Yardaff replied cryptically, and abruptly, he started heading for the gate to Asgard again, faster than ever. Loki had to run to keep up with Yardaff, and the Frost Giant's pace only continued to pick up. After a minute, Loki started to fall behind.

Then it struck him.

He could have laughed at himself. Why was he bothering to run? He had other means of getting around…

Loki focused his magic, then allowed his body to dissipate slightly into the air and energy of the universe, until he was like smoke. Then, he simply willed himself to move, and he flew forward as though pushed by a strong wind. He was easily able to keep pace with his brother, who was sprinting at this point. It was not unlike traveling through a passage between realms.

It still took the two brothers several minutes to reach the gate to Asgard. By the time they got there, the entire first wave of Jotuns - which consisted of all the realm's warriors - had passed through, and the reinforcement group - which consisted of every remaining Jotun - hadn't started to assemble yet, so the area around the gate was abandoned. Yardaff was too distraught to be slowed down, so Loki didn't have time to think about what he was doing before he joined his brother in traveling through the gate, and returned to the realm that had once been his home and prison, Asgard.

~o~

Yardaff and Loki came out just outside the armory.

"I'd forgotten that the gate was here," Loki said. He looked around. "Where is everyone?"

There was silence for a moment. Then Yardaff said, "Do you feel that, brother?"

"Feel what?" Loki asked, turning to Yardaff.

"The Ice Casket," Yardaff replied. "Can you not feel it calling to you?"

Loki thought for a minute. He had never noticed anything before. Now that he was actually paying attention, however…it _did_ feel like the ice buried in his marrow was responding to…_something_.

"I suppose I do, now that I think about it," he finally answered. "Strange; I never noticed it before."

Yardaff looked around. "Why is no one here?" he wondered out loud.

"More importantly, why didn't those who came before us take the Casket?" Loki asked.

He turned to get door into the armory chamber, and there, he discovered the answer: a thick stone brick wall, molded to replace the door and somehow not looking out of place, barred the entrance. Curious, Loki put a hand on the polished surface. To his surprise, he felt the wall pulsate with energy under his hand.

"There is magic in this barrier," he told Yardaff, who had turned to look at him, "most likely for reinforcement. In fact…" Loki took a step back, thought for a minute, then chuckled. "Mjolnir's power has no equal, as a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build," he quoted softly. "I never thought my brother would learn to use it for its latter purpose." He turned around abruptly. "Come, brother," he said; "no doubt your armies have been routed by these blockades and forced outside the palace; the battle is likely still a ways away."

Yardaff followed Loki without hesitation, and the two brothers hurried through the outer hallways of the palace. After just a minute, they started to hear the chorus of war cries and weapons striking weapons and armor that signified a great battle.

Oh, how Loki hated that sound.

Still, he didn't falter as he ran beside his brother out into the open. To the sides and behind them, the two armies were clashing, as the Jotuns fought to break through the Asgardian forces and gain access to the palace main.

For a moment, Loki stared at the battle. Asgardians killing Jotuns, and Jotuns killing Asgardians…So many innocent lives being wasted, and all because of Odin. The sight was all but unbearable.

"Loki," Yardaff said.

Loki looked away from the carnage and turned to his Jotun brother. "Yes?" he asked.

"Come, brother," Yardaff said; "the sooner what must be done is done, the better." And with no further explanation, the Jotun prince turned and started running along the outside edge of the battle, leaving Loki with no choice but to follow.

It was only a minute before Yardaff found who he was looking for. Loki stood back as his Jotun brother dove into the fray, then retreated back behind the line of Frost Giant warriors with an old, battle-scarred Frost Giant by his side.

"Prince Yardaff," the Frost Giant said, kneeling in the traditional Jotun gesture of respect, once the two Jotuns were clear of the battle zone.

"General Krunagh," Yardaff said, returning the gesture. He gestured to Loki. "Meet my elder brother, Loki Silvertongue. Brother, this is Krunagh, one of the last warriors who fought in the great wars of old, and a close friend of our father, King Laufey."

Krunagh knelt to Loki as well, and Loki, deciding not to question whether or not there was really time to waste with formalities, returned the gesture. Only when both had stood again did Yardaff turn on Krunagh and demand, "What is the meaning of this?"

"The Lady Enchessa claimed that your orders were for us to go on ahead of you," Krunagh said; his voice was so deep that it wasn't hindered by the clamor of battle that surrounded them. "I presume she lied?"

"Indeed she did," Yardaff said; "my orders were specifically for you to _wait_ for me to return, with or without my brother - as acting king of Jotunheim, it is my responsibility to be the first into battle, as you are well aware."

Krunagh nodded gravely. "I had a suspicion that she was being dishonest," he told Yardaff; "however, she announced to all of our people that you had formally asked her to rule by your side as queen, and that, as your betrothed, she would be the first into battle in your stead. Given that most of our people have always expected her to rise to power, there was nothing I could do."

"More lies," Yardaff growled; "just before I left, I told her she could _never_ be queen of Jotunheim. She is, and has always been, unworthy of such a position…though it took me a long time to see it." Yardaff tilted his head. "You were already aware, weren't you?" he asked Krunagh.

Krunagh nodded. "Just as her mother, Skadi, had been unworthy to rule by your father's side, so too has Enchessa been a disgrace to our realm in words and deeds," he said. "I could not make you see that, however; it was something you needed to understand yourself. I am glad that you have, and I know your father would be proud of you."

Yardaff nodded in thanks.

In spite of the situation, Loki couldn't help but feel a spark of respect for Enchessa's cunning manipulation of the circumstances - while the things she had said had been entirely false, they had been grounded in reality; from the sound of things, she had relayed the opposite of what she had been told, nothing more or less. Still, exactly why he needed to stand here and watch this exchange - instead of going to find Thor - was beyond him.

He cleared his throat. "Brother," he said to Yardaff.

"Yes?" Yardaff asked.

"You said there was something you needed from me?" Loki asked him.

Yardaff closed his eyes nodded. "There is," he said heavily. He took a deep breath. "Tell me, brother," he said, "are there passages between _all_ of the realms?"

"Yes," Loki replied, confused.

"_All_ of them?" Yardaff repeated. "Including Hel?"

Loki blinked, surprised. "I…presume so," he answered; "to be honest, I've never been there myself. But…I don't see why there _wouldn't_ be gates between that realm and the others."

Yardaff nodded, then sighed heavily, turning to Krunagh. "General Krunagh, second-in-command to the Jotun king in times of war, and close friend of my father, the late King Laufey, will you bear witness to what I am about to decree?" he asked formally.

Krunagh's eyes widened. "I shall bear witness, and agree only if it is best for our people," he replied; Loki got the feeling that this was a formal exchange for which the words had already been dictated.

Then Yardaff turned to Loki. "Loki Silvertongue, son of the late King Laufey, my elder brother, and crown prince of Jotunheim by birthright, who gave up your right to the throne of your own volition, will you bear witness to what I am about to decree?" he asked.

"Ah…" Loki glanced between Yardaff and Krunagh uncertainly.

"A simple yes will do," Krunagh told him.

Loki nodded. "Yes, I will," he told Yardaff, though he wasn't entirely sure what he was agreeing to.

Yardaff nodded his thanks. Then, he held up his right hand to just below his eye level, loosely cupped.

"With General Krunagh, my second-in-command in times of war, and close friend of my father, the late King Laufey, and Loki Silvertongue, my elder brother, crown prince of Jotunheim by birthright, who has given up his right to the throne of his own volition, as my witnesses…" Yardaff began to intone as Loki's patience wore thin.

Then, the facial markings that identified Yardaff as a Frost Giant of royal blood began to glow the same red color as his eyes, and Loki forgot his impatience.

"…I, Yardaff Laufeysson, acting king of Jotunheim, hereby decree that, in the event that we are victorious in the presently ongoing war with Asgard, once the battle is concluded…" Yardaff went on.

Loki watched, fascinated, as a similar red glow began to form in Yardaff's upraised hand.

"…the Lady Enchessa Skadisdaughter, renowned spellcaster and intellectual of our realm, for her disgraceful behavior and demeanor towards her fellow Jotuns, for her shameful conduct when faced with impending battle, and for committing the highest possible order of treason against our realm…"

An ice crystal started to form in Yardaff's hand around the red glow. Strangely, though, the ice itself appeared to be crimson, as well…

"…be banished to Hel for the rest of her days, unless I should see fit to declare otherwise," Yardaff finished.

Loki's eyes widened with surprise as the crystal that was forming in Yardaff's hand took its full form. It was about a foot long in all, and shaped roughly like a stout, two-ended icicle. Though the material appeared to be ice, instead of bluish-clear, it was deep crimson in color - a few shades darker than the red of a Frost Giant's eyes. At the thickest part, there was a pulsing light in the center of the crystal that, at its brightest, was a red so pale it was almost white, but not quite.

"General Krunagh, my second-in-command in times of war, and dear friend of my late father, do you affirm that this decree will in no way harm our people?" Yardaff asked Krunagh, holding the red ice crystal out to him.

"I do, and I agree to its necessity," Krunagh replied formally, taking the crystal. Loki got the impression of power swirling around the crystal, then locking into it.

Yardaff took the crystal back and looked at it, his expression grave and sad.

The battle forgotten for the moment, Loki asked, "Brother…what is that?"

Yardaff looked at Loki. "This, brother, is the reason only Frost Giants of royal blood may ascend to the Jotun throne," he told his brother.

Loki blinked.

"This is a Jotun royal decree," Yardaff went on. "It is something only those of royal blood have the power to conjure…and no one in the universe has the power to deny its will, provided even one drop of Jotun blood runs in their veins." Yardaff gave Loki a twisted smile. "I once told you that the king of Jotunheim must always concede to the will of the majority," he said; "the truth is, there is one way to bypass that regulation - and only the one. With a minimum of two fellow Jotuns as witnesses, provided both of those Jotuns are of some notability among our people, a Jotun of royal blood may conjure this, a royal decree, and his or her people will not be able to disobey whatever it commands. The Lady Enchessa herself will be powerless against this decree - she will be forced to seek the passage to her own exile."

Loki stared at the crystal. "Why wouldn't the king of Jotunheim simply conjure one whenever the people disagree with him?" he asked Yardaff, confused.

Yardaff sighed heavily, then answered, "Because a Frost Giant of royal blood only has the power to conjure one royal decree in his or her lifetime."

"This power is a great responsibility," Krunagh added; "no royal Jotun in the history of our race would ever be so brash as to use it on something trivial. Its purpose is to allow the ruler of Jotunheim to make a decision he or she knows to be best for the people, even if the people themselves do not agree."

"'He or she'?" Loki repeated involuntarily, his head spinning.

"The true ruler of Jotunheim is always the one of direct royal descent, for this very reason," Yardaff told Loki. "If a princess were to rise to power, she would rule Jotunheim, not her mate."

Loki only half-absorbed this statement. He stared at the red ice crystal with the pulsing light in the center, completely stunned.

"This is a secret we do not share with the people of the other realms," Yardaff told Loki at last. "I was going to tell you at your coronation, but you…never attended it."

Loki nodded, still reeling.

Slowly, the crisis that was raging not three feet away regained Loki's attention, and he shook his head slightly to clear it.

Then Krunagh said, "Unusually enough, I bore witness to your father's royal decree, as well. I may be the only Jotun in history to bear witness to two royal decrees."

Loki looked up at him, the battle all but forgotten yet again. "Laufey made a royal decree?" he asked.

Krunagh nodded.

"What…" Loki swallowed. "What was Laufey's decree?" he asked, nervous for some reason even he wasn't sure of.

Yardaff and Krunagh looked at each other.

"I suppose…you might as well know now, since you will not be returning once this battle has concluded," Yardaff said slowly. He turned back to his brother. "I told you that, when Father discovered that you were missing from our temple - from our entire realm - he made a binding pledge to one day slay the All-Father and avenge you," he said. "That binding pledge…was his royal decree. It ensured that he would never be tempted to forgive or forget - that he would always take the opportunity to avenge you, no matter how much time might pass before that opportunity came. It is the reason Asgard and Jotunheim have been at odds since the end of the great wars."

"Of course, with his death, it has been broken," Krunagh added. "It is unusual that circumstances conspire for a royal decree to be broken - in fact, I don't believe it has happened at any other time in our history."

Loki's eyes were wide. "Laufey did that for me…?" he asked faintly. "He used his one and only chance to wield absolute control over every Jotun in existence…to vow to avenge _me_?"

"Of course he did," Yardaff said.

Loki shook his head slightly. "_Why_?" he asked softly. "I was nothing but a newborn child, and a runt, at that…He had no way of knowing if I would even grow up to be worthy of his name…"

"You were his son," Krunagh stated; "that was all that mattered. What sort of father would forgive the murder of his child?"

Loki was dumbstruck. Even though he had long ago come to terms with the fact that Odin had never really treated him as a son, and the fact that he would probably have been happy if he had grown up in Jotunheim, he had never _really_ accepted the idea of Laufey being his father, or of the Frost Giants being his kin.

But this…This changed things.

_Laufey did that for _me_,_ Loki thought, trying to get the words to make sense. _He loved me _that much_, though I'd done nothing to earn it__ yet._

_…So _this_ is what it is to be loved as a son._

Then, Loki looked past Yardaff and Krunagh to the raging battle with new eyes. Asgardians and Jotuns…Both races had claim to being his family, and there they were, mercilessly slaughtering each other…

Loki took a breath.

"Thank you," he said in a strained voice; "both of you. I must…confront Thor now." He looked at Yardaff. "Farewell, brother," he said with far more sincerity than he ever had before.

Yardaff nodded. "Farewell, brother," he said.

Loki nodded back. Then, he focused his magic and cloaked himself - he didn't want to have to face anyone but Thor - and dove into the thick of the battle to find, and hopefully extract, his Asgardian brother, though he wished with all his heart that he could simply make it all stop.


	19. Chapter 19

The Jotuns had tried to go around the Asgardian armies at first, as their goal was to kill Odin. As a result, the battle had spread across the realm, and was now being waged in a ring of sorts around the palace of Asgard - the Jotuns on the outside, trying to fight their way in, and the Asgardians on the inside, working to keep the Frost Giants out. It was at the boundary between the two armies that Loki sought out Thor.

He wove among the warriors like a wisp of smoke, kept invisible and insubstantial by his magic, trying to find his Asgardian brother. He didn't want to, but he couldn't avoid getting a very detailed view of just how the battle was transpiring. What he quickly noticed was that, while the Jotuns were severely outnumbered, the Asgardians were severely outmatched: While the Asgardians were going about their typical battle tactic of shouting at the tops of their lungs and attacking their enemies head-on, the Jotuns were applying a degree of cleverness to their battle tactics - something Asgardians by and large tended to lack. Something Loki saw a lot of was a situation where one Jotun and one Asgardian would charge at each other, only for the Jotun to feint at the last moment, resulting in the Asgardian throwing themselves forwards in a futile attack and leaving themselves completely vulnerable, after which the Jotun would either decapitate them or impale their skull with an icicle spear. For every one Jotun who fell, there were at least a dozen Asgardian casualties; overall, the two armies were very evenly matched, and it wasn't immediately apparent which side was winning. What _was_ apparent, however, was that both sides would be decimated by the battle's end.

_Stop it!_ Loki wanted to shout at the lot of them. _Stop it! Stop fighting! It's not worth it! Asgardians, you don't even know what you're fighting for! And Jotuns, can't you see that annihilating yourselves against the Asgardian armies is exactly what Odin wants? It doesn't have to be this way! You don't have to be enemies! Stop killing each other, all of you! Stop it! _Stop it_! _STOP IT_!_

Of course, there was nothing he could do. He could only do his best not to be sick at the sight of his two families soaking the ground in each other's blood - blood that, in the end, was indistinguishable between the two races as it mixed underfoot - as he wove among the warriors as quickly as he could, searching for Thor. He hadn't thought it would be difficult to find his Asgardian brother - all he should have had to do was search for someone who was making a spectacle of themselves on the front lines. Strangely, though, Thor was nowhere to be seen; the only person on the battlefield making a spectacle of themselves was Enchessa.

And what a spectacle she was making. When Loki saw her, in spite of everything, he couldn't help but stop to watch her in awe. Her every movement meant death for at least one Asgardian warrior; the grace with which she flowed between attacks gave her fighting style the appearance of a deadly dance. A spinning strike forward, an ice blade clenched in each hand, slashed through five surrounding Asgardians; coming to a stop, flinging the two ice blades in opposite directions, where each of them found and embedded themselves in Asgardian throats, so deep that the points came well out the other sides; slashing both hands inward and downwards, throwing her whole body into the movement, sent two razor-thin sickles of ice cleaving through the bodies of another half-dozen Asgardian warriors; without missing a beat, bringing her hands upwards and forcefully rising to her feet, raising a wall of ice that blocked several attacks; a push of one hand shattered the wall into multiple long, deadly-sharp spears of ice; a push of the other hand, and the blades all flew forward, impaling the skulls of over a dozen Asgardians so forcefully that many of the warriors' heads flat-out exploded, showering the already blood-soaked, corpse-covered ground with bits of flesh, bone, and brain. It was clear that Enchessa could easily have punched a hole in the Asgardian defenses and made her way into the palace to kill Odin and end the entire war if she wanted to; what was equally apparent, however, was that, unlike the rest of the Jotuns, _her_ aim was to kill as many Asgardians as she could before the battle's end.

_No wonder Yardaff saw fit to make her banishment a royal decree,_ Loki thought; _smart, powerful, and beautiful she may be, but she's a bloodthirsty lunatic!_

No Asgardian could get within three yards of Enchessa and survive. As a large number of the Asgardian warriors grouped together in an attempt to overpower her, Loki got a glimpse of her face as she annihilated them all with a few sweeps of her hand. She bore a savage grin, and there was a gleam in her glowing red eyes that Loki was all too familiar with - it was the same look that had always been in Thor's eyes during an intense battle: a gleam of insatiable bloodlust and battle-hunger that was drinking in the carnage with a degree of pleasure that simply wasn't healthy. This, of course, finally reminded Loki of what he was supposed to be doing, and he tore his gaze away from the battle-happy Frost Giant maiden and resumed his search for his Asgardian brother.

Minutes passed, but despite Loki's best efforts, Thor was nowhere to be found. He made his way all around the palace, getting a good look at every inch of the front lines of the battle, but the mighty warrior simply wasn't there.

Loki thought fast. _I can't keep searching like this,_ he thought; _something's not right. Maybe I should find a way to ask someone where he is. But who? Heimdall and Hogun don't talk much, and Fandral and Sif are too arrogant to be tricked into answering my question…That leaves…_

Loki smiled to himself; it seemed that the big oaf would always inadvertently answer his most pressing questions.

With a new purpose, Loki swiftly made his way through the battlefield until he found the Asgardian he was looking for. He then waited a moment for the right opportunity; when it presented itself, Loki quickly disguised himself and jumped into the fray, knocking back the Jotun who was about to surprise Volstagg from behind.

"Watch your back!" he called to his former friend.

Volstagg glanced at him and grinned. "Fandral!" he said.

Loki did his best to imitate Fandral's cocky smile as he and Volstagg situated themselves back-to-back. They repulsed several attacks together for a minute; Loki was careful to momentarily incapacitate the Jotuns without doing them any real harm while still trying to make his feigned attacks look convincing.

"Where's Thor when you need him, huh?" he finally called to Volstagg over the din of the battle.

"Thor's in the main hall of the palace, ready to fight off any of these beasts who might make it through our first defenses," Volstagg replied. "He's the second line of defense in this battle - after all, what the Frost Giants are really aiming to do here is kill Odin."

"I know that," Loki lied; "I'm just saying, it would be nice if he was out here fighting with us, like in the good old days."

"I can't argue with that!" Volstagg agreed with a grin, completely oblivious.

Loki returned the grin and continued pretending to fight for a minute. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, he leapt away from Volstagg, pretending to be charging towards a small group of Jotuns. As soon as he was sure Volstagg wouldn't notice, he changed himself back into being as invisible smoke, and started making his way through the Asgardian defenses and towards the palace.

_It seems I won't have to go out of my way to get my brother in a situation where we'll be able to talk, after all,_ Loki reflected. _That's convenient…_

Once Loki had passed the Asgardian armies and was in the clear, however, he started to get nervous. He hadn't seen Thor in over two years, and while that wasn't a long time in and of itself, so much had happened since then - not to mention that the last time they had seen each other, Loki had been both attacking Thor and attempting to destroy Jotunheim. How was he supposed to approach his brother now?

A lot of possibilities presented themselves in Loki's mind, some better than others. In the end, though, he couldn't resist having a little fun.

~o~

Thor stood ready in the great hall of the palace of Asgard, Mjolnir clasped firmly in his hand, ready to repel any Jotun attacks that might breach the armies outside.

He could hear the din of battle from where he stood waiting, and he couldn't deny that he wished he could join in. It was important that he wait here, though, he knew - he couldn't risk letting a single Frost Giant slip past him and make its way to his father. Odin was in the throne room beyond, alone. He was not unprepared to fight for himself if need be, but he was old, and easily worn down - it was essential that he be as well-protected as possible.

Thor reflected that this wasn't like most wars. If Odin fell, it would all be over, just like that…

Suddenly, a war cry from much closer than the battle outside pulled Thor back to the present. He looked, and saw a single Jotun charging at him, ice blade at the ready. Instead of being intimidated, Thor actually couldn't help feeling relieved at finally being able to do something, and he stood his ground. When the Frost Giant was close enough, Thor swung Mjolnir at its head. It leapt out of the way, though - surprisingly nimbly, considering its size. Caught unawares by this tactic, Thor faltered for a moment, and to compensate, he threw Mjolnir at the Frost Giant. The Frost Giant wasn't fast enough to dodge it this time, and the hammer flew directly into its head…

…then kept flying without hitting anything, sailing right through its target, and the Frost Giant shimmered and vanished.

Thor stared at the spot where the Frost Giant had been, stunned; when Mjolnir returned to him, he caught the handle purely by reflex. There was only one thought in his mind:

_Only one person could conjure an illusion like that…_

Suddenly, behind him, Thor heard a chuckle.

"I do hope you can forgive me for that," said a familiar voice; "I couldn't resist."

Thor turned around, and from behind a golden pillar stepped a ghost from his past.

"Hello, brother," Loki said with a smile. "It's been a while. How have you been?"


	20. Chapter 20

"Loki?" Thor breathed.

Loki spread his hands and inclined his head, still smiling.

Thor was dumbstruck. There stood his brother, looking almost exactly as he had just over two years ago, right down to his clothes. The way he stood there…It was strange, really, how normal it felt.

"Wh…?" Thor stammered. "H-How…I…Wh…What are you doing here?" he finally managed to ask.

Loki's eyes widened with mock indignation. "Oh, that's a fine greeting," he said sarcastically. "It's been more than two years since we last spoke face-to-face. I realize you've most likely been watching me from on high, but haven't you missed me? _I've_ missed _you_."

"Loki…" Thor shook his head, unsure what to say. "I…Yes, of course I've missed you, brother, but…"

"But what?" Loki asked mockingly.

Thor blinked, rendered completely speechless.

There was a tense silence for a minute. Then, Loki's cold expression faded into a mischievous smile, and he chuckled.

In spite of everything, Thor couldn't help chuckling, too; the way Loki was acting felt so absurdly normal, it was almost as though he'd never been gone. "I _have_ missed you, brother," he told Loki fondly.

"And I you," Loki said.

For a moment, it felt just like old times between them.

Of course, the old days had been built on lies, and both of their smiles quickly faded.

Thor sighed. "I _have_ missed you," he repeated, "but why have you come here now, of all times? _How_ are you here? You gave up your power."

"Oh, you were watching that, were you?" Loki asked, smiling again. He shrugged. "What I did wasn't irreversible. I took my powers back so that I could come here."

"Because of this war?" Thor asked.

Loki nodded. "My Jotun brother came and found me and told me what was happening," he explained. "He offered me a chance to join in the battle, saying I had every right to, as this is all on behalf of my suffering. I refused, mind you," he said quickly; "but then he told me that the aim of this battle is to kill you and Odin."

Thor shook his head. "I don't understand," he said; "have you come to fight, or not?"

"No," Loki said firmly. "I've no wish to fight with anyone…" He chuckled humorlessly and added, "Besides which, I already fought you once, and it was very clear which of us was the victor."

Thor felt a knife in his heart. "Was it?" he asked softly.

Loki's sarcastic smile faded again. "Not really, I suppose," he admitted; "regardless, battle was never my preferred pastime. In truth, I would put an end to all of this if I could."

"Then why don't you?" Thor asked. "This is all happening because of you - if you would just tell the Jotuns you don't want this-"

"I tried," Loki told Thor firmly. "As soon as Yardaff told me what was happening, I asked him to call this off. I know I've spoken such words with dishonesty in the past, but I swear to you, I _did_ try to stop this." He shook his head. "The Jotuns are a very close-knit people, brother - their society is unlike anything you could imagine. They have all taken personal offense to what the All-Father did to me, as is their way - they aren't fighting this war for _me_, they're fighting it for _themselves_. There is nothing I can do."

Thor sighed, but he knew Loki was telling the truth - Yardaff had said essentially the same thing two months earlier, after all. "So why have you come?" he asked.

Loki sighed. "I came to get you out of this mess," he answered, taking a step forward.

Thor blinked.

"Thor, I don't know if you understand the full scale of what's happening," Loki said, taking another step closer; "every Frost Giant in Jotunheim is storming Asgard tonight, all with the sole purpose of killing you and Odin - Odin for…various offenses, and you for choosing to stand and fight for him. _Every Frost Giant in Jotunheim_, brother. Do you understand what that means?"

"It means that this will be the last of the quarrels between Asgard and Jotunheim," Thor answered.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Brother please, I beg of you, for once in your life, take a moment to _stop and think_," he said exasperatedly. "_Every Jotun in existence_ is coming here - if the main body of their armies is too far diminished, the rest will come, including their females and their children. Do you really think you can stand against _all_ of Jotunheim?"

"I can and I will," Thor replied, unfazed.

"And if you do, then what?" Loki challenged. "What happens if you stand and fight against every Jotun there is? There will only be two possible outcomes: Either you'll win, or you'll lose. If you are defeated, you will die, and most likely Odin will as well - if that happens, Asgard will be left without a king, and the realm will fall apart. On the other hand, if you are victorious…" He shook his head. "Do you understand what victory would mean in this case?" he asked of Thor. "You once told me I couldn't kill an entire race - you sacrificed the Bifrost to protect the people of Jotunheim! If you are to be victorious in this battle, then you will need to do precisely what you sacrificed a great deal to prevent _me_ from doing just over two years ago! Everything you gave up will have been for nothing!"

Even though he hated it, Thor knew Loki was right. "What would you have me do?" he asked softly.

"Walk away," Loki replied without hesitation. He took another step closer to Thor and held out his hand. "I can take you away from this realm," he told him; "so long as you aren't here when the Jotuns breach your armies outside, they won't care where you are - they won't pursue you. There is no need for you to be forced into this position."

"And Father?" Thor asked.

Loki shook his head. "The Jotuns will pursue Odin if he leaves this realm; I cannot save him," he told Thor. "I _can_, however, save _you_."

"You would have me leave Father to die?" Thor demanded. "You would have me turn and run like a coward-?"

"Brother, it's not _cowardice_, it's being _sensible_!" Loki argued. "I know it's not ideal, but consider what your alternatives are!"

"I will not leave my father to die at the hands of those beasts!" Thor growled.

"They are not beasts, brother!" Loki shouted. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look, I won't argue right now about who is in the right or who is in the wrong in this conflict," he said; "I simply cannot allow you to end like this. The Jotuns have taken personal offense to my pain, but it _is_ _my_ pain that ignited this battle, and I would not be able to bear it if you were to die because of me."

"You tried to kill me once yourself," Thor couldn't resist pointing out darkly.

Loki flinched and took a step back. "I am aware of that," he said sadly, meeting Thor's eyes, "and I am truly sorry. I cannot tell you in words how glad I am that I failed…and I would try to make amends for it now, if you will let me." He held out his hand again. "Please, come with me, brother," he begged; "let me take you away from this mess. You mustn't do this - this is a battle that cannot be won."

Thor shook his head, sad but certain. "You should not have come," he told Loki.

"How could I have not come, knowing what was transpiring?" Loki asked. "I cannot let you do this, brother; you mustn't stand and fight in this battle."

"I don't care what you say," Thor stated; "though you're right that the possible outcomes of this battle are far from ideal, that's no reason for me to run."

Loki sighed. Then, his expression turned cruel. "Then let me give you another reason," he hissed.

Thor got a bad feeling.

"Have you been watching things as they've transpired on Earth, brother?" Loki asked Thor mockingly. "If you've been paying any attention at all, you must know…how Jane has missed you."

The name was a blow to Thor's gut. He shook his head disgustedly. "Brother, do you really think this is the time-?" he began angrily.

"I realize it may be a bit underhanded of me," Loki said quickly, holding up his hands in surrender, "but there will never be _another_ time."

Thor blinked.

"Thor, I had no wish to return to this realm," Loki told him. "Earth is my home now, and I would not have that change. I had hoped never to take back my powers for _anything_ - once this battle has concluded, regardless of what the outcome may be, I will return to Earth and surrender my powers once more, and _nothing_ will make me take them back again." He took a deep breath. "Only my power can take you from this realm," he said; "there is no other way for you to leave. I am the only means by which you can keep your promise to Jane, and now is the only time I will be able to do that for you. This may be a bad time - and again, I fully acknowledge that it's a bit underhanded of me to use her name against you now - but the fact is, this is the _only_ time; you will never have another chance."

Thor turned his gaze downwards, uncertainly lancing through him.

There was silence for a minute, save the clamor of battle that sounded from just outside the palace walls.

"Those are your options, brother," Loki said at last: "Stand and fight and perish, and leave Asgard without a king; stand and fight and triumph, and wipe out the entire race of Jotuns; or turn your back on this battle and come with me, and take your only opportunity to keep a promise you thought you'd broken. Make your choice quickly; we haven't much time."

Thor sighed, then looked up at Loki again. Loki was holding his hand out to him, looking at him steadily.

Thor shook his head and chuckled in spite of himself. "It's only been two years," he said; "and yet, it seems I'd already forgotten how difficult it is to argue with you, brother."

"Difficult?" Loki repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I've only ever known one person to find it anything short of impossible."

Thor chuckled again, then sighed.

Loki waited silently.

Thor debated with himself. The hardest part was knowing that everything Loki was saying was completely true - he couldn't argue against any of it. Really, the only thing holding him back was his pride as a warrior - that, and his loyalty to his father.

Was that enough? Was there any way it _could_ be enough?

Well…the answer was obvious, if no easier to bear for it.

Thor sighed again, this time in defeat. "Very well then, brother," he said to Loki, conceding. "I cannot argue with you. Take me to Earth." He reached out and took Loki's hand.

Loki smiled. "Thank you, brother," he said.

As Loki's magic began to envelop them both, Thor turned to look in the direction of the throne room, where his father waited. He felt a strong wave of guilt; it was wrong, to abandon his father like this.

He looked down at the war hammer in his hand.

_I won't need Mjolnir on Earth,_ he reasoned. _Father is strong enough to wield it himself, and he has greater need of it than I…_

Just before Loki's magic swept him away, Thor released his grip on Mjolnir. _Go and serve my father,_ he willed it; _he will need you._

Then, as Mjolnir flew in one direction to obey Thor's command, Thor evaporated and flew behind Loki in the other, like smoke in the wind.


	21. Chapter 21

In hindsight, Loki would always think that he should have known it was too easy. His spell to get himself and Thor out went perfectly, they escaped the palace and battlefield without a hitch, the gate to Earth opened quickly and silently, and the two brothers were standing in the middle of the desert in virtually no time at all.

"Where's Jane?" Thor asked, looking around and noting that they were alone.

"She'll be here," Loki reassured him; "I didn't have time to show here where to wait before I left, so she'll be using her technology to find us. She shouldn't be long."

Thor nodded.

There was silence for a minute.

"Thank you, brother, for accepting my help," Loki said at last.

Thor chuckled. "You hardly left me much choice," he commented.

Loki smiled. "I do try," he teased.

Thor smiled back.

"How have things been, since I left?" Loki asked. "You've been crowned king, I take it?"

"Yes, I was," Thor confirmed; "very shortly after you left."

"I'm sorry I had to miss it," he said.

"As am I," Thor said somberly.

Loki sighed. "Have I…been missed?" he asked hesitantly.

"I've missed you, brother," Thor replied. "Mother has missed you just as much, if not more."

"And Father?" Loki asked softly. "I don't suppose there's any possibility that _he_ has missed me?"

"I…believe he has, in his own way," Thor said; Loki didn't miss his hesitation.

Loki chuckled humorlessly. "Has he expressed any sorrow whatsoever that I've been gone?" he asked. "Answer me truthfully, brother."

It took Thor a moment to respond.

"No," he finally admitted.

Loki nodded; though the truth was painful, he had expected as much, and he didn't push the matter any further. "Has your new job been difficult?" he asked instead.

"No," Thor answered. "With the Bifrost destroyed, my duty in keeping peace among the realms has been reduced to a title, nothing more - while I can watch, I cannot intervene."

Loki took a deep breath. "I hope…it was worth it," he said.

"As do I," was all Thor could say in reply.

Loki nodded at Thor again, then turned to look around, waiting to see the lights from Jane's car on the horizon. Then, he realized what he'd just seen, and he did a double-take, looking at Thor's _empty_ hands.

"Thor?" Loki said, working very hard to keep his voice steady.

"Yes?" Thor asked in reply.

"Where is Mjolnir?" Loki asked.

"I left it with Father," Thor answered.

Loki's eyes widened. "You did _what_?" he exclaimed.

"I left it with Father, for him to use," Thor told Loki.

Loki felt as though he'd been shot down from the sky. "Since when do you willingly go _anywhere_ without that thrice-damned hammer?" he demanded.

"I've no need of it here," Thor said, clearly confused by Loki's reaction. "Father needs it more than I, especially now."

_That's exactly the problem!_ Loki wanted to shout. He put a hand over his face, trying to contain himself; he hadn't factored in the possibility that Thor wouldn't bring Mjolnir with him. Odin was old and weak, but Mjolnir's power was great - the hammer alone gave the All-Father a chance at victory. Thor _never_ went _anywhere_ without Mjolnir…

"What's the matter, brother?" Thor asked.

Loki sighed, unable to bring himself to so much as look Thor in the eye, much less answer.

After a moment, Thor asked in a darker tone of voice, "Why would you not want Father to have Mjolnir when all of Jotunheim aims to destroy him?"

Loki shook his head.

"You deceived me," Thor said accusingly.

At that, Loki _did_ look up. "No, I did not!" he snapped. "Nothing I said to you was false!"

"But you didn't come for me, did you?" Thor countered.

"I would have!" Loki answered. "Saving you would have been more than reason enough for me to come for you!"

"But that's _not_ why you came, is it?" Thor demanded.

Loki sighed and shook his head. "Oh, what does it matter?" he asked.

"Why can't you tell the truth for once in your life?" Thor snarled.

"Nothing I said to you was a lie!" Loki shouted, rounding on Thor again.

"But it wasn't the _whole_ truth!" Thor argued.

Something inside of Loki snapped.

"Oh, so you want the _whole_ truth, do you?" he asked menacingly. "You think you want to know the _whole_ truth?" Without giving Thor time to answer, he said, "Very well then, I will _tell_ you the _whole_ truth."

"Please do," Thor said.

Breathing deeply to try and keep himself contained, Loki said, "Before I do, though, perhaps I should remind you of something - something that will help you to _understand_ the 'whole' truth. Tell me, brother, do you remember our last conversation in this realm? It was just after you discovered that Father had taken away your power to lift that accursed hammer. Do you recall?"

"Yes," Thor answered.

Loki nodded. "Do you remember how I told you that Father was dead because he'd been forced to exile you?" he asked cruelly. "How I told you that Mother had forbidden your return, and that I was to rule Asgard?"

"How could I forget?" Thor asked in reply.

Loki nodded again. "Tell me, brother," he sneered: "How did that feel?"

Thor blinked.

"How did it feel, to have a parent who, for all intents and purposes, may as well have never existed; to have another who would turn on you in your time of need; to have a brother - who loved you _dearly_, mind you - but who took everything you ever wanted, everything you believed to be rightfully yours, all while you were powerless to stop it?" Loki hissed. "How did it feel, to have nothing and no one…and worst of all, to have no one to blame but yourself - to have no reason to think that there was anyone to blame for your pain except you? _How did that feel_?"

Thor's eyes were wide, his expression one of shock.

"I may have said those things firstly to break your spirit, in the hopes of buying myself time," Loki told him, "but there was another reason I told you those lies: I wanted _you_ to live _my_ life for a change, just as I was _finally_ getting a chance to live yours. I wanted you to know what it felt like to be me, if only for _one_ _day_!"

"Loki…" Thor breathed.

"You know, come to think of it, I actually went easy on you," Loki snarled; "at least _I_ told you I was sorry! _You_ were always so damn oblivious to _everything_ that you could never have even _known_ how I suffered by your side, much less be _sorry_!" Loki shook his head furiously. "You were always a spoiled, selfish, reckless, arrogant, ignorant _brat_!" he spat. "I doubt you even know that I didn't start becoming 'Loki the Trickster' until after Father named you his heir! Did you?"

"Wh…?" Thor shook his head bewilderedly. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"_Exactly_," Loki sneered. He took a breath. "When we were growing up, I idolized Father," he told Thor: "every lesson he tried to teach us, I strove to learn; every word of wisdom he spoke, I committed to my memory…I spent every waking moment of the first thousand years of my _life_ working to be what he tried to raise us to be, to become wise and noble and honest, to make him proud to call me his son." Loki shook his head disgustedly. "And then, there was _you_," he said scornfully. "You only ever listened to Father when he told stories of great victories in battle; you shunned his lessons, neglected your duties, scorned his wisdom and guidance - all _you_ ever worked to be was a warrior, like any other Asgardian brute! You showed absolutely no respect for the responsibilities that came with being the son of the king - you showed no respect for Father _himself_! While I spent our free time working and studying to be worthy of the name 'Odinsson', you were out with the commoners learning to do battle! And which of us did Father favor? Me - the one who respected him, who strove to be worthy, who did everything he ever asked of us; or you - the arrogant, reckless, disrespectful brat?"

Thor could only blink, too stunned to answer.

"_You_, of course!" Loki snarled. "Nothing _I_ ever did was good enough for him, and nothing _you_ ever did made him so much as frown! All the work _I_ put into our upbringing, _you_ got praised for! It was as though Father was completely blind!" Loki shook his head angrily. "I couldn't understand it," he told Thor; "I couldn't understand why nothing I ever did even managed to earn so much as a smile from Father. I did nothing but try my hardest to be worthy of his name…Of course, I assumed he was judging us fairly." He sighed. "In spite of Father's apparent disregard for my efforts, I always felt certain that he would name me his heir, when the time came - after all, _surely_ he could see how the realm would suffer under your rule, and that I would only have done my best to take up his mantle and keep the peace. When the day came, and he named _you_, I couldn't believe my ears! How could he think you more worthy, more suited for the throne, than I? What could possibly be blinding him so? It didn't make any sense!"

"Loki…" Thor shook his head remorsefully.

"Oh, don't start," Loki said spitefully; "you were so completely oblivious to reality, there was no way you could have seen how things were transpiring. But I learned something that day: I learned that honest work would get me nowhere in life. So, I started thinking that perhaps, working _dis_honestly might get me somewhere…and thus Loki the Trickster was born." He chuckled humorlessly. "Of course, I _did_ have a natural talent for the art of manipulation, there's no denying that," he said; "the irony is, I may well have never discovered my talent, had I not been forced to take desperate measures to try and prevent you from ascending to the throne. Oh, and in spite of what some people may say, my efforts to thwart you were _not_ borne of envy - had you worked as hard as I to earn your title, then yes, when you were named heir to the throne, I would have been _jealous_, but I would have _accepted_ it, and not tried to stand in your way, because you would have earned and deserved it. The reason I worked so hard to bring you down was because I knew how the realms would suffer under your idiotic rule. It was for the good of the realms I behaved thus; having been raised so well by Odin, what else could I have done?" Loki's voice dripped with sarcasm as he spoke the question.

Thor sank to his knees, slack-jawed with shock and, if Loki wasn't mistaken, guilt.

"Every scheme I concocted always went _exactly_ as I planned them," Loki went on; "that is, until the very end, when Odin was always supposed to _finally_ acknowledge that you weren't worthy. You would always make exactly the mistakes I knew you would, right in front of his face, but he never responded as he should have. I could only keep trying, but nothing ever changed. I didn't know, of course, that I wasn't taking all the factors into account. How could I? How could I possibly have known that Father was judging us based on something other than our merits? How could I possibly have known about…_this_?"

With that, Loki focused on the ice in his marrow and summoned it, not bothering to wonder whether or not it would work. He felt the ice spread quickly as, all at once, Odin's veil was lifted, and his true skin and face were revealed.

Thor gasped, jumped to his feet, and took a stumbling step back away from Loki, all in one movement.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Loki said coldly; "do I disgust you like this? Does it sicken you, to see me as close to my true self as I can get? Do you despise me for this glimpse of the body, the appearance, that is mine by birthright? Do I disgust you, looking like this, as I did Odin, just for having this underneath the veil he cast over me? _Do I_?"

Thor couldn't respond.

Loki pushed his Jotun blood back beneath the surface and changed back to his normal self. "Well, there, I'll get rid of it for you, then," he hissed.

"Loki, I-"

"Oh, I'm far from finished, _brother_," Loki snarled, cutting Thor off. "You said you wanted to know the _whole_ truth, yes? Well, that was only the beginning. For the next piece of the 'whole' truth, I once again call on your memories. Do you remember when _your_ friends - oh, and while we're on the subject, let's be very clear about something else," Loki added as he suddenly thought of something: "They were always _your_ friends, never mine; I was only ever allowed to tag along because I was your 'brother'. I was never part of the team; none of them would ever have sacrificed _anything_ for _me_, though they were willing to give up _everything_ for _you_." He shook his head angrily. "When I was given charge of Asgard during your exile, they immediately thought it was a disaster," he told Thor. "They never, for one _second_, considered the possibility that I might be a _good_ king, that - unlike you - I might actually rule with wisdom and humility, and put the good of the realms before any selfish ambitions…Honestly, were you even listening to the promises you were swearing to keep at your coronation? You never had any intention of _keeping_ them. But no; Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were _convinced_ that _you_ were to be king, and that _I_ was the one who would begin a reign of terror." He laughed humorlessly. "Some friends of mine they were!

"Anyway, as I was saying: Do you remember when _your_ friends came here for you, and told you I had lied? How did _that_ feel, to discover that all the suffering you'd willingly endured was in fact not at all your fault, but based entirely on falsehoods that someone had deliberately told you; that someone you loved, someone who claimed to love you, someone you should have been able to trust, had looked you in the eye and lied to you, just to cause you pain? How did _that_ feel, _brother_?" He shook his head mockingly. "You must have been _furious_," he hissed. "Oh, how you must have _loathed_ me in that moment. You probably had half a mind to come back to Asgard just to kill me with your own two hands, didn't you?"

Thor said nothing.

"_Didn't you_?" Loki shouted.

"…No," Thor finally answered faintly. "I was…hurt…and confused…and angry, yes, but…not to the point of hating you."

Loki's eyes widened. "Oh," he said mockingly; "well then, it seems we have a bit more in common than I thought - that was exactly how _I_ felt when _I_ discovered the truth. I never resented Father, though I should have - even now, I don't, though I _know_ he detests me for the very reasons he took me in. And don't you try to deny it!" he shouted when Thor opened his mouth. "You know he never loved me, and I know you know it - don't bother trying to make me feel better! I know the truth, and I won't trade it in for pretty lies any longer!" He paused, catching his breath.

Thor was speechless.

"Do you know why I went to the trouble of luring Laufey to Asgard before slaying him, instead of just using the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim at the very start?" Loki finally asked Thor in a low voice.

Thor shook his head, his expression very shell-shocked. "No," he answered.

"It was because I wanted Odin to _know_, without _any_ doubt, that _he_ was my father, not Laufey," Loki told Thor. "I waited until the last moment so that I could be _certain_ that Odin would see me make my choice, right in front of him, in the clearest way I possibly could. I wanted him to _know_ that I was _not_ a Frost Giant - that I was his son, through and through, and that his son was all I would ever be. Only _after_ that did I go to destroy the rest of Jotunheim, which I did because I reasoned that, since he hated me for my blood, the reason he didn't want to go to war and wipe out the rest of the Jotuns must have been concern for the lives of his _own_ subjects; I figured that, if I could wipe out the Frost Giants without any cost to any of the other realms, I would be granting his ultimate wish." Loki shook his head angrily. "And what did he do in return, after all the effort I went to to _finally_ make him see that I was his son?" he asked furiously. "He banished me. The harder I tried to make him happy, to make him proud to call me his son, the more he resented me! I couldn't win!"

"Loki…" Thor shook his head, but couldn't think of anything more to say.

There was silence for a minute.

"That is my pain, brother," Loki finally said. "That is the suffering I endured at the hands of the All-Father. Can you blame me, then, for siding with the Jotuns in this conflict? Can you blame me for wanting to get Mjolnir out of the way, so that they have a fighting chance at achieving their goal of killing him? As I said, getting you out of the whole mess would have been reason enough for me to come on its own, but can you blame me for seeing the fact that you never go anywhere without that wretched hammer as an added bonus to taking action?"

Thor closed his eyes and lowered his head. "No," he admitted. "No, I cannot."

Loki nodded. "Well, then, there you have it," he hissed; "you now know the whole truth. Are you happy now, brother?"

Thor sighed. "No," he answered.

"I didn't think you would be," Loki said mockingly.

Thor took a deep breath, then raised his head again and looked Loki in the eye. "Loki," he said, "take me back."

Loki blinked. "_What_?" he exclaimed.

"Take me back to Asgard, brother," Thor said firmly; "now."

"But-!"

"I will retrieve Mjolnir," Thor went on; "then, you can bring me back here again, and we can ride out this storm as you had hoped to."

Thor's demand to return to Asgard threw Loki for a loop; his reason threw Loki in a loop in the complete opposite direction. "You'll do _what_?" he asked. "You would leave Father defenseless?"

"He will not be entirely defenseless," Thor replied; "and…it's the least I can do."

Loki shook his head. "Brother, I hope you didn't misunderstand me - you owe me no debt," he said quickly; "any pain you ever caused me was borne entirely of your own ignorance - it would be unfair of me to begrudge you for it."

"Loki," Thor said firmly, "take me back."

Loki looked at Thor for a minute.

"You would really do this for me, brother?" he finally asked softly.

Thor nodded. "Yes," he replied; "but hurry - if the Jotuns reach Father before I retrieve Mjolnir, it will be no small task to do so."

Loki shook his head, all but speechless. "I…I don't know what to say," he said breathlessly. "I…Thank you, brother."

"Don't thank me now; save it for after we return to this realm with Mjolnir," Thor said, holding out his hand.

Loki took the hand he was offered, hardly daring to believe it. Just before he reopened the gate to Asgard, though, he remembered.

"Damn," he cursed, releasing Thor's hand and pulling back.

"What's the matter?" Thor asked.

"Jane," Loki answered; "she'll be here any minute - we won't be back by the time she arrives."

"So?" Thor asked.

"So, if she gets here and we're gone, what do you think will happen?" Loki demanded in reply. "Best-case scenario, she'll think she miscalculated our whereabouts; worst-case scenario, she'll think I betrayed her!" He shook his head. "I cannot risk losing my place here, brother," he told Thor; "this realm is my home, and I cannot lose it, as I have lost every other home I might ever have had. Erik distrusts me even now, and if I take you away before Jane gets here, she'll feel his distrust is warranted, and Darcy…" Loki closed his eyes and shook his head again, this time painfully. "She would not be so easy to convince, but even she would have reason to doubt me. I cannot risk giving her that reason. She's…all I have left."

"Loki…"

"It's no matter," Loki told Thor, though he was trying to convince himself as much as his brother. "You're safe; that's what's important. Perhaps once Jane has come and we've filled her in, I could take you back to retrieve Mjolnir."

"There's no time to waste," Thor pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that," Loki responded, "but there's no help for it. I appreciate the gesture brother - truly, I do," he added, looking Thor in the eye, "but it's too late now."

Thor sighed but said nothing.

Loki sighed, too. _It's not fair,_ he thought. _Either I stay here and miss the chance to give the Jotuns the upper hand, or I go and risk losing my home…_

_When both of two options have undesirable outcomes, find a third option; if there is no third option to be found, then create one._

Loki remembered the little trick he'd learned over the years - the very formula that had allowed him to manipulate Thor into walking away from the battle…and after thinking for a minute, he slowly smiled.

"I can't _just_ leave," he said out loud, "but maybe I _can_…"

Loki took off his helmet and stepped out of the range of the gate. He looked around, then decided that five steps away in any direction would probably work. When he was far enough away, he set his helmet down on the ground, then crouched down and wrote a short message in the sand right beside it. He smiled, then stood back up and walked over to Thor.

"Let's go," he said, holding out his hand to his brother. "That message won't be enough to reassure Erik, and it might not be enough for Jane, but it _will_ be enough for Darcy - she'll keep them here until we return."

"What was your message?" Thor asked.

"Just that we will return shortly," Loki replied. "Now come; we have no time to lose."

Thor nodded and took Loki's hand. Loki grasped his brother's hand tightly, activated the gate, and returned to Asgard, carrying Thor with him into what would be his, and the universe's, final judgement.


	22. Chapter 22

Yardaff watched Loki vanish, then turned to Krunagh.

"Odin is inside the palace, I take it?" he asked.

"So it would seem," Krunagh answered affirmatively; "there has been no sign of him on the battlefield. Likewise, his son has failed to make an appearance; it's likely that Thor is a second line of defense, after these warriors."

"My brother will handle the son of Odin," Yardaff told Krunagh; "he came here for that specific purpose."

"I see," Krunagh said.

Yardaff watched the battle for a moment, assessing the situation and trying to determine the best course of action.

"Spread the word," he finally ordered his general: "I'm going to find the Lady Enchessa and hopefully direct her into forming a breach in the Asgardian defenses. Once I make it past these warriors and into the palace, I will need all of our forces to redirect their efforts to preventing any soldiers from coming after me. In effect, we must take the palace. Is that clear?"

"Yes, My Lord," Krunagh said. "It will, however, take some time to get the message to everyone."

"I'm aware of that," Yardaff said, "and it's just as well - it will give my brother the time he needs to dispatch the son of Odin."

"I see," Krunagh said, and he inclined his head. "It will be done," he avowed.

"Good," Yardaff said, and the two Jotuns went their separate ways, never to meet in this life again.

~o~

Yardaff ran just behind the front lines of the battle, spreading word of his plan and lending aid to his people wherever he could while he searched for Enchessa. He was glad to see that the year he had taken for the Jotuns to train to battle the people of Asgard had paid off well - everywhere he looked, every Jotun was proving himself more than a match for a dozen Asgardians each. Still, there were at least a dozen Asgardians to each Jotun in the battle, and Yardaff's progress in his search was slow as he cast spiked ice missiles into the fray to protect his people from being caught unawares.

By the time Yardaff found Enchessa - though he didn't know it - Loki and Thor had already gone. He found her, surrounded by Asgardian warriors and having the time of her life with them. With a graceful twirl, she sent a blade of ice radiating out from herself, cutting down all the Asgardians who stood around her except one. The last warrior, she grabbed by the throat and lifted off his feet. She laughed, her eyes gleaming with delight, as her victim writhed helplessly in the air, being simultaneously strangled and tortured by the burn of her frost touch.

The sight made Yardaff feel sick.

He quickly threw an ice dagger at the Asgardian soldier's head; the blade shattered the warrior's skull, killing him instantly and putting him out of his misery.

Enchessa dropped the Asgardian's remains. "Hey!" she shouted indignantly, turning angrily on whoever had just cheated her of her fun.

"Lady Enchessa," Yardaff said sternly, walking up to her.

"Oh, it's you," Enchessa said mockingly. "So nice of you to join us in battle, Your Highness."

"What in the name of our ancestors do you think you're doing?" Yardaff demanded of her furiously.

"I'm giving these monsters what they deserve!" Enchessa spat.

Yardaff was forced to join her in fighting off a knot of Asgardian warriors that converged on them. "Our goal is to breach the Asgardian defenses and kill Odin," he reminded her as they fought.

"I see no reason why we can't exterminate as many of these beasts as possible while we're here," Enchessa retorted.

Yardaff finished off the last of their attackers, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the front lines. She struggled against him, determined to continue her massacre. "Allow me to _give_ you a reason," he hissed at her, and as soon as they were far enough from danger that they could talk, he pulled out his royal decree and handed it to her.

"What is this?" she asked, taking it.

Yardaff knew he didn't need to answer; she would know exactly what he had decreed just by holding the enchanted ice crystal.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the royal decree and learned its message.

"You have shamed our people with your arrogance and bloodlust," Yardaff told her coldly, "and you have committed the highest order of treason. What else did you expect?"

She looked up at him, her expression furious and indignant. "Why are you defending these creatures?" she demanded of him.

"My Lady, it is _you_ I am judging, not the people at whom your wrath is directed," Yardaff said. "Now, I may yet grant you amnesty, if you can redeem yourself…though after what I've just seen you do, I doubt you can. Regardless, if you wish to have any chance of remaining a citizen of Jotunheim, you will cease with your unnecessary bloodletting antics and put your abundant power and skill towards the _true_ goal of this battle. Form a breach in the Asgardian defenses, now - get me through and into the palace. Once that's done, help the rest of our people keep the Asgardian forces from coming after me and take the palace. Are my orders clear?"

Enchessa glared at him silently for a moment.

"Yes, My Lord," she finally answered bitterly.

Yardaff nodded.

Enchessa took a breath, then turned back to the battle and readied herself. Yardaff raised one hand over his head and conjured an ice dagger, and the surrounding Jotuns grouped together into a spearhead formation with Enchessa at the tip, ready to charge. Yardaff held the formation steady for a moment, then let out a furious battle cry, and the Jotuns drove forward to pierce the barrier of Asgardian warriors.

The Asgardians did their best to fend off the assault, but even though they yelled like mindless warriors, the Frost Giants were too cunning in their tactics for the Asgardians to entirely repulse. The group was just strong enough to carry its momentum all the way through, and Yardaff ran past the line of Asgardian warriors for the palace.

The Jotuns fought to keep the breach in the Asgardian armies open, and all the Frost Giants converged on the gap, flooding to the inside of the ring of Asgardian warriors and changing from the attackers to the defenders.

The palace of Asgard was compromised.


	23. Chapter 23

Loki was flying toward the palace with Thor the moment he was through the gate, but by the time he reached the battlefield, the Asgardians and Jotuns had switched places.

He stopped short. "Damn!" he cursed. "They've already gotten through!"

"Why are they still fighting out here?" Thor wondered out loud.

"To keep the Asgardians from lending aid to the All-Father," Loki answered readily; "one or a few Jotuns have gone inside to kill him, and the rest are staying out here to ensure that no one can interfere."

"Then we'd better hurry," Thor said.

"It's too late," Loki said; "Odin is likely already fighting with Mjolnir's power."

"Then we'd better hurry," Thor repeated.

Loki turned to Thor, wide-eyed. "You would take Mjolnir even now?" he asked softly.

Thor didn't answer, and he didn't meet Loki's eyes. Loki understood the meaning: _Don't question it, or I may change my mind._

"Right," he said, and he took Thor by the hand again and flew into the fray.

The Asgardians were redoubling their efforts, knowing that defeat was at hand, and the battle raged even more fiercely than before. Loki tried not to pay too much attention to the carnage he had to wade through to get to the palace with Thor, but as he reached the battle's front lines, he saw Krunagh battling ferociously to keep the Asgardians back…and out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Sif leap out of nowhere at the general, her spear raised.

_No…_

Right before Loki's eyes, Sif impaled Krunagh just below his neck, killing the old Frost Giant instantly.

Loki's breath choked out of his lungs, and he stopped cold, his magic slipping with his concentration. He watched as Sif took a moment to smile smugly at her victory before pulling her spear free and dashing into the fray once more, leaving the general's body to be trampled under the warriors who still lived.

"Loki…"

Loki couldn't hear his brother, couldn't look away from the face of the fallen old veteran. _He knew Laufey,_ was all Loki could think. _He knew my father, and he knew him well. He was alive to see the great wars; he knew from experience how the old days were. There was so much he could have told me…So much he could have told _everyone_. Sif doesn't understand what she's just done…_

"Brother."

Thor tugged on Loki's hand; the spell had all but broken, and they were almost substantial, not to mention visible. The movement snapped Loki back to reality, though the shock still twisted his gut. He took a breath, collected himself, then re-cast his spell and carried Thor the rest of the way to the palace, not stopping until they were out of sight of the fighting outside.

Then, he had to release the magic.

For a moment, he stood still, Thor beside him.

"Did you know that Frost Giant, brother?" Thor finally asked.

"I only just met him when I came here tonight," Loki answered, not looking at Thor. "He was…one of the last Jotun warriors from the days of the great wars…and…he was a close friend of Laufey…of my father." The words felt strange in Loki's mouth, but he felt as though it was something that needed to be said: that he was the son of Laufey. He shook his head to clear it slightly, then began striding towards the throne room. "Come," he said to Thor; "I'll explain another time."

"There won't _be_ another time," Thor pointed out, falling into step beside him.

The battle cry of a Frost Giant, followed by a terrible crash, sounded ahead of them.

"Well, we don't have time _now_, either," Loki said, and he sprinted to the throne room, Thor right behind him.

~o~

Yardaff ran through the palace, not taking time to even notice the golden splendor around him. The place was essentially deserted, as all the warriors were battling outside; the great hall, too, was empty.

_I suppose my brother has already done his work and gone,_ Yardaff thought. _It's just as well that we said our goodbyes already._

Yardaff didn't like that his brother was going to have to spend the rest of his days on Earth as a mortal, but he accepted that Loki had the right to choose what life he wanted, especially after all he'd been through. All Yardaff could do was avenge him now.

Speaking of which…

Yardaff came over the rise in the golden floor that bordered the throne room, and the Asgardian throne came into view, with Odin sitting upon it alone. The old king held Mjolnir in his hand, and his staff stood upright beside his seat.

"So," Odin said, "you've come."

"I have," Yardaff said; "it is time you answer for what you did to my brother."

Odin stood, Mjolnir ready in his hand.

"Laufey would have left Loki to die," he said, slowly walking down the steps from the raised dais upon which the throne stood. "I saved his life."

"You _ruined_ his life!" Yardaff spat. "My father would _never_ have allowed my brother to die!"

"Loki was a runt," Odin pointed out.

"Loki was my father's first-born son!" Yardaff retorted. "Even had he been a _cripple_, family is family, and that is something our people value…unlike _you_," he added wrathfully.

"You are the king of your realm, and the last Jotun of royal blood, if I'm not mistaken," Odin said calmly. "If you die here today, your people will be left without a ruler, and your realm will suffer. I would rather we end this now than force that to happen."

"You speak as though you care for my people," Yardaff said spitefully.

"I have sworn to guard the realms," Odin told him; "though my days as king of Asgard are done, I am still bound by duty."

"If you value duty so highly," Yardaff hissed, "then you should be able to appreciate why I cannot allow your crimes against my brother, my people, and my realm, to go unpunished." He clenched his fist, summoning a blade of ice. "As acting king of Jotunheim, and as Loki's brother, it is _my_ duty to see to it that you pay for what you've done, no matter the cost."

Odin hefted Mjolnir. "So be it, then," he said.

"Die, All-Father!" Yardaff snarled, and with a roar, he leapt at the old Asgardian.

Odin proved surprisingly agile for his age and dodged Yardaff's attack with ease. Yardaff's newly conjured weapon shattered against the floor, and he was left vulnerable. Too late, he saw Odin swing Mjolnir at him.

_No,_ he thought. _No, it can't end now, I've barely begun! I must avenge my brother…!_

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he seemed to see both from his own perspective and from the perspective of an onlooker. He watched from a distance as Mjolnir came smashing down on his head…and passed through thin air, while his body shimmered and vanished.

He looked down at himself.

There was his body.

He had moved. But how…?

~o~

_That was too close,_ Loki thought, his hands still outstretched from the quick spellwork he'd done to save Yardaff; luckily, even his improvised shadow-sprite charm came quickly and easily to him.

Odin looked around wildly, confused.

"Thor," Loki said softly.

Thor raised his hand. "Hammer! To me!" he commanded.

Mjolnir flew out of Odin's hand, obeying Thor's summons.

Odin looked up. "Thor?" he exclaimed, confused, as Thor caught Mjolnir in his outstretched hand.

"Forgive me, Father," Thor said gravely - which struck Loki as an odd thing to say, given the circumstances. He gave Thor a questioning look, but Thor didn't return his gaze, instead looking steadily and sorrowfully at Odin.

With a roar, Yardaff leapt at Odin again. Odin quickly evaded the attack, then held out his hand in the direction of his staff. It flew to him, and he grasped it just in time to counter another assault by Yardaff.

"Thor!" Odin called. "Help me!"

Thor's grip on Mjolnir tightened, and Loki could see how much of a struggle it was for him to hold back.

"Brother," he said softly.

Thor looked at Loki.

Loki met his eyes solemnly. "I'll stay back if you will," he told his brother.

Thor was still for a moment, then wordlessly inclined his head in agreement. Loki nodded back, and the fight between Yardaff and Odin raged on without them.

Odin's greatest weakness was his age; had he still been in his prime, it was clear that he would have easily overpowered Yardaff. As it was, the two were evenly matched. The magic of Odin's weapon could just barely be blocked by a concentrated shield of ice from Yardaff, and their melee strength was likewise almost equal.

At first, Loki watched nervously, unable to look away. He knew he was supposed to take Thor back to Earth now, but he simply couldn't bring himself to turn his back on the battle. For all his talk of Earth being his home, he had a great deal invested on the outcome of this war, and the results of the fight that was taking place in front of him would almost certainly determine the rest. He got the sense that Thor, too, couldn't bring himself to turn away.

After a short minute, Loki couldn't continue to resist the urge to do something, to not stand by idly - it was all too important, too serious. Still, he held firm to the deal he had just made with his brother, and forced himself not to interfere. Instead, he turned to Thor.

"Brother," he said in a low voice, extending a hand and gesturing at Mjolnir, "may I?"

Thor turned to him questioningly.

"I know I can't lift it," Loki said, "but may I have a look?"

Thor's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he held Mjolnir out to Loki.

Loki nodded his thanks and turned his attention to the legendary war hammer. He put a hand on the head, paying close attention, and sure enough, he felt a similar energy pulsating through the weapon as there had been in the barricades that had routed the Jotun armies to outside the palace. He gave the hammer a small probe with his magic, then smiled.

No matter the sort, magic really was quite simple.

He looked up at Thor. "Wait here, brother," he told him; "I'll only be a minute."

"Where are you going?" Thor asked, but Loki had already cloaked himself and gone, leaving Thor to watch the fight between Odin and Yardaff alone.

~o~

Loki flew down the halls of the palace, headed for the armory, looking for the barricades Thor had built. He knew Thor would never take them down for the Jotuns to bypass even if they were victorious, and he had the skill to take them down himself, so he decided that he might as well.

The palace halls could be a maze to those unfamiliar with the building - and provided a lot of alternate routes to those who looked for them - so there were actually quite a few barricades standing in the way of the shortest path to the armory. Loki stopped at the first one he came through, then slowly reached out and put a hand on the wall. Just as before, he felt Mjolnir's magic pulsing through it. This time, however, he knew the source, and he knew what to do. He focused his magic, and the next time a pulse of energy rippled under his hand, he responded with an energy pulse of his own.

There was a deafening _CRACK!_, and the stone wall splintered under Loki's hand, then disintegrated into dust.

Loki stood still for a moment, marveling at his own power. Then he gave a laugh of triumph and flew forward, headed for the next barrier.

Wall after wall shattered under Loki's might; by the time he reached the armory, he barely even had to stop to destroy the barricades that stood in his way. He could hardly believe how powerful he had become, and part of him started to genuinely regret the fact that magic had no place in a mortal's life.

When at last he had reached the wall that sealed off the armory, Loki paused for a moment, considering things, then obliterated the barrier with a wave of his hand. _That's the last of them,_ he thought; _it's time to return…I should bring Thor back to Earth now…_

But something made him hesitate.

He had never felt it during the many centuries he had spent living on Asgard, but now, the draw of the Ice Casket's power nagged at him, like an itch he couldn't scratch. He knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn't help slowly walking into the weapons vault and down the hall until the Ice Casket was right in front of him.

He stared, almost hypnotized, at the power that seethed inside the glowing blue case, like smoke that was made of light. Actually, it looked a little bit like a blue version of a Jotun royal decree…perhaps that light was characteristic of Jotun magic? Loki remembered the last time he had stood here, just over two short years ago, when he had first discovered who and what he truly was.

_I was the first-born son of Laufey,_ Loki thought. He had never allowed himself to fully acknowledge that fact before, but now, it was all he knew. _I was born to be the crown prince of the Frost Giants. The power of the Ice Casket should have been mine by birthright. I could have been the king of Jotunheim - of a realm where all the people stand together, and no one individual is treated as better or worse than another. I could have been raised by a family that loved me. I could have had _everything_…_

_…and Odin took it all from me._

Rage ignited inside of him like an ice-cold flame, and he reached out and took hold of the Casket. He felt the icy power flow through him, and saw the skin of his hands turn the blue-gray color it should have been were it not for Odin's curse.

_Odin took everything from me…_

_…so why should I not return the favor?_

Emotion and magic melded together in Loki's heart, overwhelming his senses and drowning out all rational thought. He forgot the deal he had just made with Thor. He couldn't control himself. He didn't _want_ to control himself. Rage like this rarely afflicted Jotuns, but when it did, it was a force that simply couldn't be contained.

Unstoppably, Loki lifted the Ice Casket in his hands, turned around, and flew all the way back to the throne room without even pausing to so much as think about what he was doing.

~o~

_How can this old fool fight like this?_ Yardaff thought furiously.

Loki's spell had given him a second chance to fight, and Thor's reclaiming of Mjolnir had given him a fighting chance, but Odin was still a skilled warrior despite his age, and for all Yardaff's best efforts, the old Asgardian was still going strong. Nothing Yardaff did seemed to be able to touch the All-Father.

_Fighting may not be inherent in Jotun blood, but I was raised to battle this monster!_ Yardaff raged. _He should not be able to push me around like this!_

He knew Odin could only go so long without weakening and eventually collapsing, but instead of working to wear the All-Father down, Yardaff fought to end the battle as quickly as possible; after all, his people were still outside, dying, and they would keep dying until Odin was finished. Of course, attacking so directly left him vulnerable to counter-attacks, and it was half the battle to not be disarmed and slain by the All-Father.

Not for nothing, though, had Odin been worshipped by mortals as the king of the gods, and though Yardaff was young and strong, just as his father had fallen before Odin's might, so too did he. With a roar, Odin swept his staff against Yardaff's head, sending Yardaff flying several feet before landing on the floor on his back. Without hesitating, Odin raised his staff to deliver the finishing blow he had withheld from Laufey-

And suddenly, Loki stood between Odin and Yardaff, wielding the Ice Casket. With a roar backed by centuries of bitterness and pain, Loki unleashed the Casket's power on the All-Father, encapsulating the ancient Asgardian in ice just in time to stop the blow that would have killed Yardaff.

And then, everything was still.


	24. Chapter 24

Darcy pulled up Jane's car just beside the gate between Asgard and Earth. Of course, no one was there.

Jane fiddled with her equipment in the back.

"I don't understand," she said; "they should be right here."

"Well, they're not," Erik said. "Why am I not surprised?" he added under his breath.

Darcy shot Erik a venomous look, then got out.

"Darcy, where are you going?" Erik asked.

Darcy didn't answer. In truth, she didn't really _have_ an answer, but she wasn't going to let Erik talk like that without putting up some sort of a fight.

Erik got out as Darcy ran towards the gate. "Darcy!" he called.

Darcy ignored him; she had spotted something on the ground a short distance away.

Jane got out and joined Erik beside the car, but she didn't say anything.

Darcy ran over to Loki's helmet. Even though she hadn't seen it before that night, she recognized it right away. Beside it, a short message was scrawled in the sand:

**We'll be back soon.**

Darcy smiled, knowing Loki had deliberately used human speak to let her know it was really him. She turned around.

"Loki left us a message," she called to Jane and Erik. "He says they'll be back soon - him and Thor, I guess."

Erik rolled his eyes.

"Why would he have come, then gone again?" Jane asked.

"I dunno," Darcy said, stooping down to pick up Loki's helmet before walking back over to them; "he just said 'we'll be back soon'. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"No," Erik said. "No, Darcy, we're not going to sit out here in the middle of the desert waiting for…" He made a vague gesture. "…_him_."

Darcy glared at Erik. "Loki said he'll be back, and he'll be back," she said firmly; "I don't know what he had to leave for, but I trust him."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should rethink who you're willing to trust," Erik said.

"Why would he say he's coming back if he's not?" Darcy challenged him.

"Why would he have come and then gone again to begin with?" Erik countered.

"I don't know!" Darcy scoffed.

"Well, I do," Erik said: "He came back for a second just so that he technically wouldn't have been lying about bringing Thor back here, and he left again because he's not coming back. He's not _from_ here, Darcy - he doesn't _belong_ here, and he doesn't _want_ to be here, no matter what he might have said to you. People are nothing but tools to him - especially us."

Darcy shook her head angrily. "You're wrong," she told him.

Erik sighed. "Come on, girls," he said, turning back to the car, "let's go."

Jane hesitated a moment, then followed him, looking broken and sad, like she had for the past year. Darcy turned to face the gate again and looked up at the sky, feeling Loki's helmet in her hands.

"Darcy," Erik said behind her, "let's go."

Darcy looked at the stars a moment longer, then looked down at the helmet she held.

"No," she finally said.

She could almost see Erik roll his eyes behind her. "Darcy, come on," he said exasperatedly, "it's late - let's go home, get some sleep."

"No," Darcy said firmly, turning around to look at him, "I'm not going anywhere. Loki said he'll be back, and I'm going to wait for him."

"Darcy-" Erik began.

"No, stop," Darcy said, cutting Erik off. "I've tagged along with you two, I've gone with the flow, I've allowed myself to be dragged all over this desert and then some, and I've never gotten so much as a thanks in return - I'm done. _You_ can go back to the lab; I'm staying right here."

Erik blinked.

Darcy looked angrily between Erik and Jane. "You know, I never asked for any of this," she told them bitterly. "You wanna know why I applied for the job as your assistant, Jane? Because I figured it would be easy. I figured, 'Oh, cool, I get six college credits for helping a stargazer tote her telescopes around or whatever - what a deal.'" Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she recited her thought process. "And what did I get instead?" she asked mockingly. "I got days of technobabble about stuff I couldn't care less about, a stick-in-the-mud astrophysicist so serious about her research that she has to bore everyone else to death with it, and a job that had me driving all over this stupid desert all hours of the night for stuff that doesn't matter to anyone! And yeah, maybe it's just me," she added scathingly. "Maybe I just don't have the ability to appreciate all this astrophysics stuff. I mean, I'm just a normal person - I care about little, unimportant things, like Facebook, and hot guys, and my iPod, and whether or not driving into a tornado that's coming out of some freaky lights in the sky might get me killed! But you know what? I put up with it. I ran all over the place, happily obeying your orders as your little errand girl; and when Erik here joined the party and started his nay-saying, I even took your side. I stood up for you! To be honest,_ I_ thought the idea of Thor being the actual _Thor_ was ridiculous, too, but I backed you up!"

"I thanked you," Jane said in a small voice.

"Yeah, you did," Darcy said mockingly; "thanks for that - that was about the only time you've ever thanked me for any of the stupid things I've said or done for you! I don't even know why I took your side; I guess I felt bad for you. And you know what else? For a while there, I regretted that I did! I mean, if I hadn't backed you up, Erik wouldn't have gotten Thor out of custody, and everything that happened after that wouldn't have happened, and I'd still be able to live a normal life! I mean, seriously - what else could I have done, after Thor left, but quit college and take the job as your _permanent_ assistant? I watched the Norse God of Thunder make a giant tornado with a legendary war hammer and blow up a giant, invincible robot that shot huge, explosive lasers out of its head - how could I _possibly_ go back to living a normal life after that? So yeah, I signed on as your assistant for life…and what a joke that was! You haven't been doing your research for over two years! The first year and five days, all you thought about was finding your boyfriend - whatever science was behind any of it was _far_ from on your mind! What's more, you made _me_ drive all over this stupid desert, chasing every little blip in the atmosphere or the space-time continuum or whatever the heck your stupid computers monitor, all with no luck, until Loki came here and told you Thor wasn't coming. And what did you do then? You decided to do nothing but sit around and mope. If Erik hadn't been paying attention, the town might have been attacked by one of those big freezer people, and a catastrophe would have broken out, and you would have sat there doing nothing!" Darcy stopped a moment to catch her breath.

Erik and Jane were stunned.

Darcy turned on Erik. "Loki coming here was the only thing that has ever happened that's made me glad I ever met either of you," she snarled at him. "You know why I sympathized with him? Because I knew what it was like to be the odd one out - to do nothing but work hard and get maybe the occasional thanks for it, if that. I _get_ why he did what he did, and I _get_ who he is and what he's been through - that's how I know that there's more to him than the stupid 'Loki the Trickster' myths. I…" She hesitated, then decided she might as well say it and raised her head proudly. "I love him," she declared, "and he loves me; and I know him well enough to know that when he says he's coming back, he's coming back.

"But you know what?" she asked spitefully. "You don't have to listen to me. Go ahead and make judgements about someone you don't even know. Erik, go right on back to the lab and spend the rest of your life nay-saying. And Jane, go ahead and go with him, and spend the rest of _your_ life moping over your boyfriend while Erik pretends to try and make you feel better. The two of _you_ can go back to the lab - the two of you can go to _hell_ for all I care - but _I'm staying right here_!"

And with that, she turned away from both of them and dropped into a sitting position on the ground, her legs crossed and Loki's helmet in her hands.


	25. Chapter 25

Loki stood between the frozen Asgardian and the downed Jotun, panting heavily, catching his breath at about the same speed his mind caught up with what he had just done. Yardaff looked up at his brother, stunned; likewise, Thor, a short distance away, stared at Loki in shock.

Loki took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, straightening out of the braced position he had been standing in and lowering the Casket in his hands. He turned around to look at Yardaff.

Yardaff stood.

"Here, brother," Loki said, holding out the Ice Casket to the Jotun prince; "it has been too long since a proper Jotun wielded this."

"Loki!"

Loki jumped and turned at the call to face Thor, who was walking over to him.

"Thor!" Loki exclaimed, shamefaced. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…I didn't go with the intention of doing this - I only meant to break down the barricades you had set up. I don't know what came over me." He stepped away from Odin and Yardaff, still holding the Casket. "You can step in now, just as I did, and release him - I won't interfere again."

Thor stopped a short distance away from his brother and looked at Odin. He was silent for a long minute. Then he said, "That's quite alright, brother; I won't release him. He was defeated fairly."

"Thor…"

"I said," Thor said firmly, turning to look Loki in the eye, "it's quite alright, brother."

Emotion rose in Loki's chest, almost bringing tears to his eyes. "Thank you, brother," he choked.

Thor nodded.

Loki nodded back, then turned back to Yardaff and held out the Ice Casket once more. Yardaff took it wordlessly.

Loki smiled as Yardaff gasped at the power that flowed through him from the Ice Casket's touch. "Even I feel its power when I hold it," he told his Jotun brother; "I can't imagine how it must feel to you." He inclined his head. "It is rightfully yours."

"Thank you, brother," Yardaff said.

Loki nodded, then turned to Odin, his mood and expression darkening. He reached out and took hold of the staff encased in ice, backing his touch with magic, and the ice around the staff and Odin's hand shattered. Loki pulled the staff out of Odin's grip, then raised his free hand and sealed the ice back over the hand he had had to release.

"I'll take that," he told the All-Father.

The ice around Odin's head and torso started to crack.

"Not so fast," Loki said, raising his hand again, and he reinforced the ice with a binding spell of his own. The cracks sealed over, and Odin was rendered truly helpless.

Loki closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "It's time this ended," he said.

"It is," Yardaff agreed. "Thank you, brother; I'll finish him myself."

Loki nodded, then reached out and shattered the ice around Odin's head and neck, leaving the rest of the reinforced ice to bind the All-Father in place. Odin gasped for air as the ice around his mouth fell away; of course, his breathing was limited by the ice that encapsulated his chest.

"Say your final words, All-Father," Loki said coldly as Yardaff stepped forward.

"Release me at once!" Odin commanded Loki.

"And why should I do that?" Loki asked mockingly.

"You owe me!" Odin snarled. "I saved your life, though I should have let you die! I showed you a mercy you didn't deserve!"

"And now you ask that I do the same?" Loki asked, still in a mocking tone of voice. "No, I don't think I will."

"You ungrateful, despicable boy!" Odin roared. "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

"That you should have," Loki said coldly; "everyone would have been happier if you had, myself included."

Odin shook his head disgustedly. "You little wretch!" he spat. "I was a fool to think I could raise a Frost Giant to be anything more than a monster! You're nothing but a blight on this universe, like your father before you!"

Loki felt his insides go numb; insulting him was one thing, but comparing him to Laufey like that was something else entirely.

He stepped forward and held out a hand to stop Yardaff. "Stand back, brother," he told the Jotun prince. He turned on Odin wrathfully and said, "I'll kill him myself."

"No," Odin said as Yardaff backed down, "you won't."

"And why not?" Loki demanded. "Give me one good reason why I should spare your life, after that ignorant little hate speech you just gave."

Odin met Loki's eyes shamelessly. "Because if you kill me, then in my final moments, with the last of my strength, I will dismantle all the remaining passages between the realms," he told Loki. "Everyone will be trapped in the realm they are in at the moment of my demise for the rest of eternity, yourself included…and you'll never see her again."

Loki's eyes widened, and he felt his heart stop. He had no doubts that Odin had that kind of power - this was no bluff.

"Wh…What about Thor?" he challenged faintly. "You would keep him from seeing his woman again, too?"

"Bah," Odin spat; "Lady Sif was always to rule by Thor's side."

Loki didn't have to look to know the indignant expression that crossed Thor's face. "Oh, so now you would choose our consorts for us, would you?" he asked Odin mockingly.

Odin's eye was steady as it met Loki's gaze.

There was silence for a minute. Then, Loki's face slowly split into a wide grin, and he chuckled. His chuckle grew into a laugh that got harder and harder, until he was standing with his head thrown back, howling with laughter like a madman. He could feel his brothers' concerned gazes on him, but he couldn't help himself - it was all just too much. For several minutes, he just stood there, cackling helplessly, unable to do anything about the fact that he appeared to have gone completely and utterly mad.

"I'm sorry," he choked as he finally managed to get a handle on himself. "I am sorry, but this is just too much." He shook his head, still grinning. "What is this, All-Father, your purpose in life? To take things from me? It's all you ever seem to do! I mean…" He chuckled again. "You took my rightful form, you took me from my home, you took any chance I had at a happy upbringing with a loving family, you took any ability I ever had to live among my blood-kin, you took my respect, you took my loyalty, you took my sanity, and when all I had left was the name and home _you gave me_, you took those from me, too! And now that I've found something else - a new meaning in my life - you would take that from me as well! You would _die_, taking things from me. To what end? Why do you so enjoy ruining my life?"

Odin shook his head disgustedly but said nothing.

Loki thought for a moment.

__When both of two options have undesirable outcomes, find a third option; if there is no third option to be found, then create one.__

Loki smiled. "Well, do you know what?" he asked Odin spitefully. "I've had enough. No longer will I allow you to take from me."

"Then release me," Odin growled.

Loki shook his head. "No," he said, "I can't do that, either. Even if I wanted to, what would happen then? This battle would go on and on, and people would continue to die for your crimes. Where is the fairness in that, I ask you? No; for the good of everyone, you must die. But first…" He raised his hand. "…you're going to go to sleep for a bit," he told Odin.

Slowly, he closed his hand, and as he did, the ice that enveloped Odin closed back over the All-Father's head.

Loki turned to Yardaff. "Take him to the armory," he told his Jotun brother; "position him where you can see him from the gate to Jotunheim. Keep him alive until I return - there are a few things I must do before putting him to death."

"He won't survive long with his head encased in ice," Yardaff pointed out.

"Then break the ice around his head when you must," Loki said; "but not a moment sooner." He took a breath, then turned to Thor. "Brother, come with me," he told him; "let us put an end to the bloodshed outside - there is no need for any more lives to be lost."

Thor nodded gravely. "Agreed," he said.

Loki nodded back, then glanced at Yardaff. "I will be sending the Jotuns through the palace to return to Jotunheim," he told the Frost Giant prince; "make sure that they have all gone before I return to finish the All-Father." He thought of something, then added, "Krunagh is dead; you needn't wait for him."

Yardaff's eyes widened.

"I am sorry," Loki added softly. "I wish I could have gotten to know him better."

"As do I," Yardaff said solemnly, bowing his head.

Loki nodded, then turned to leave. "Come," he told Thor; "let's end this."

"And then what?" Thor asked, following him.

Loki gave Thor a twisted smile. "You'll see," he replied.


	26. Chapter 26

Loki and Thor were just out of sight of the throne room when Loki could maintain his silence no longer.

"Thor," he said, slowing down and looking over at his brother.

"Yes?" Thor asked, matching his pace and looking back.

"Thank you," Loki said sincerely, meeting Thor's eyes. "Thank you, so much, for everything you've done for me tonight. I…I cannot thank you enough."

Thor inclined his head. "It is the least I can do," he said.

"You didn't have to do anything," Loki said; "none of my past grievances were your fault."

"Well, perhaps if I had listened to Father as you did, I would not have been such a large part of the problem," Thor said.

Loki shook his head. "No," he said, "there was no way you could have known to do anything differently. Father encouraged your behavior…and it would be wrong of me to allow you to think you owe me any sort of debt."

Thor sighed and faced forward again. "I am not doing this…to repay a debt," he told Loki slowly. "I am doing this because…" He hesitated. "For the longest time, I sided with Father, knowingly or not, against you," he said at last. "I allowed you to be forced through so much pain…All these years, I've made the wrong choice. The least I can do is make the right choice now."

Loki smiled in spite of himself. "You _have_ changed, brother," he commented; "a great deal."

Thor nodded, his expression saddening a bit further; Loki didn't miss this.

"Fear not," Loki told his brother softly; "you _will_ see her again. Soon. You have my word." He paused to let Thor respond; when he didn't, he looked forward to face the palace gates as they approached them and added, "For now, though…"

The two brothers pushed the palace doors open, revealing the carnage outside. They glanced at each other and nodded. Loki lifted Odin's staff, and Thor raised Mjolnir over his head, and simultaneously, Thor summoned a bolt of lightning while Loki struck the shaft of Odin's staff against the floor; the two Asgardian weapons created a pair of sonorous booms that echoed across the realm.

"_ENOUGH_!" the two brothers shouted at the tops of their lungs.

The Asgardians stopped fighting, recognizing the the voice of their king and the sounds of Mjolnir and Odin's staff; the Jotuns stopped fighting, recognizing Loki's voice and being less inclined towards battle; and Enchessa stopped fighting, recognizing Loki's voice and noting that everyone else was stopping. The warriors of the two armies turned to Loki and Thor, giving them their full attention.

"The battle is over," Thor told the warriors. "Odin has fallen, and victory goes to Jotunheim."

"Jotuns, you are to return to your realm now," Loki told them; "the path to the gate through the palace has been cleared for you."

"Asgardians, you are to let the Jotuns pass, with no further bloodshed," Thor declared. "Anyone who makes any further unprovoked attacks will be flogged for treason."

"Jotuns, you too are to leave peacefully," Loki added, "and if any of you make any further attacks unprovoked, you will likewise be reprimanded."

The Frost Giants, gracious in victory, nodded their obedience to Loki and began filing past the two brothers without any celebration or further bloodshed. From among the Asgardians, Lady Sif stepped forward, looking at Loki and Thor.

"Thor…?" she asked. "Loki…? I don't…understand."

Loki gave Sif a very fake smile. "Ah, Sif, it's been too long," he said with mock fondness; "I hope you've been well. Unfortunately, we cannot catch up just now; perhaps later, when Thor and I are less pressed for time?" He turned to Thor and held out his hand. "Come, brother," he said.

"What are you planning?" Thor asked, though he took Loki's hand without hesitating.

"You'll see," Loki said again, and he shrouded himself and Thor in his magic and flew the two of them back to the gate between Asgard and Earth.

~o~

Sif was dumbfounded as she watched Loki vanish with Thor. She couldn't begin to guess what was going on, but since Loki was there, she knew that something was up, and that it couldn't be good.

_Heimdall._ Sif turned away from the palace gates and began making her way quickly across the battlefield, searching for the Gatekeeper. As Thor had commanded, she didn't raise her weapon to the Jotuns she passed, nor did they raise a hand to her; she tried to ignore them, though this was no easy task. As she walked, first Fandral, then Volstagg, and finally Hogun joined her, following her lead; she knew they were as confused and concerned as she. At one point, she passed Enchessa, and couldn't resist glancing at the Jotun maiden; for a split second, their eyes met, and a spark of rivalry flickered between them, though neither of them could act on it.

Finally, Sif saw Heimdall's crested golden helmet in the crowd, and she hurried over to him.

"Heimdall," she said breathlessly.

Heimdall turned and acknowledged her.

"What's going on?" she asked him. "Can you see?"

Heimdall shook his head. "No," he said slowly. "Until moments ago, I was more concerned with attending the battle than keeping an eye on other proceedings."

"Well, what can you see now?" Fandral asked.

Heimdall paused and looked around; the four Asgardian warriors knew he was seeing more than what was just visible to the naked eye.

"It seems Odin still lives, yet has been incapacitated," Heimdall finally told Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, a hint of puzzlement coloring his tone.

"Why would Thor concede defeat if his father still lives?" Sif wondered out loud.

"He's the only one who can tell us," Volstagg pointed out. He turned to Heimdall. "Can you see where he's gone?"

Heimdall looked around again before catching sight of something far in the distance that no one else could see.

"I see him," he said, "though I'm not sure why he and Loki are there; I see nothing remarkable about their location."

"Take us to them," Sif said; "we must act. Whatever's going on, it cannot be good - Thor must need our help."

Heimdall nodded in agreement and began heading towards where Loki and Thor stood, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three following in his wake.

~o~

At the gate between Asgard and Earth, Loki paused.

"What are you planning, Loki?" Thor asked softly.

Loki sighed and turned to the sky, beyond which he could see the realm of mortals. "Odin must die for the things he has done," he said in a somewhat distant voice, "there is no contesting that. It is for the good of the realms."

Thor said nothing; he had a feeling Loki was telling this to himself as well as to him, and he couldn't think of anything to say in response anyway.

"I know he will do what he threatens to do, and there is no way around it," Loki went on. "He will isolate the realms, and prevent us from ever leaving Asgard, if we are here when he dies." He sighed again, then turned to Thor. "Asgard is your place, brother," he said; "no matter what happens, you must live here. As for myself…" He turned back to the sky. "It matters not to me what realm I dwell in…so long as I have Darcy by my side. She is home to me; I cannot live without her. Odin knows this. I could bring him with me to Earth and kill him there, but…that would be risky and complicated, besides which, Yardaff has the right to bear witness to the All-Father's execution…as do you," he added, glancing at Thor again.

Thor nodded but remained silent, still unsure what he could say even if he had felt the need to speak.

"Just as you must live here, Yardaff must live in Jotunheim," Loki continued. "As this is the case, this matter is…complicated. However, trans-realm gateways are strong; even though I'm sure Odin has the power to use the last of his strength to dismantle them, it would not be instantaneous, so it should be possible for Yardaff to bear witness to Odin's death and then return to Jotunheim, if he can activate the gateway in the moment Odin is slain."

"Which is why you had him take Father to a place where he can be observed from the gateway between this realm and Jotunheim," Thor realized out loud.

Loki nodded. "Yes," he confirmed, "and that resolves the issue of getting Yardaff to where he needs to be before the realms are cut off from one another…which just leaves the problem for the two of us." He took a deep breath, then turned to Thor. "Because I must be here to kill Odin, and because Darcy is home to me no matter what realm I might be in…I would have her join me here, for the rest of her days, if she consents. I cannot live without her."

Thor blinked, surprised.

"I cannot claim to know how you may feel about Jane," Loki went on, "but I can bring her here to Asgard as well, if you wish, and if she consents. It is, of course, up to you to ask her to join you here, and I understand if you will not, but know that you have the option. If anything, I will take you to see her now, even if it's only to say a proper goodbye."

For a minute, Thor was speechless. Then, he nodded.

"I understand what you are doing, brother," he told Loki, "and I must say, it's a very clever plan. Do you think it would really be necessary to bring Jane here, though, if Darcy is with you when Father dies?"

"I can't claim to know if he will carry out his threat regardless of what steps I may take to render it meaningless," Loki said; "as the mortal saying goes, better safe than sorry."

Thor shook his head. "I cannot believe Father would be so petty," he said. "It…it is not like the father I know to act thus."

Loki chuckled humorlessly. "I will admit I was surprised for a moment, but I know I shouldn't have been," he said; "long have I known the truth about who he _really_ is."

Thor nodded grimly. "His slights against you were not imagined on your part," he commented. "I never imagined that Father was really like that…"

Loki sighed and held out his hand. "It matters not," he said. "Come; we have no time to waste."

Thor nodded his agreement and took Loki's hand, and Loki carried them through the gate to Earth. Mere moments after they were gone, Heimdall, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three arrived at the gate.

"They're gone," Heimdall said, turning to the others. "They just left."

"Left how?" Fandral asked.

"It seems there is a gate that stands here between Asgard and Earth," Heimdall answered; "how Loki managed to find or use it, I still do not understand."

"What do we do now?" Hogun asked.

"I believe they mean to return shortly," Heimdall said.

"Then we will wait until they do," Sif stated with finality.

The others agreed.


	27. Chapter 27

Once again, Thor and Loki arrived on Earth together; though it hadn't even been an hour, almost everything had changed since the last time. When the dust cleared, instead of finding themselves alone in the middle of a desert, Loki and Thor were immediately greeted by the sight of Jane, Erik, and Darcy.

For a moment, everyone was still and silent. Then, Jane breathed, "Thor…?"

"Jane," Thor said softly.

"Thor!" Jane exclaimed, her face lighting up in a way Loki had never seen. She ran to Thor and threw her arms around him. "Oh my god, _Thor_!"

"Jane," Thor said again, hugging her back. "I'm so glad to see you again."

"Oh my god," Jane whispered, hugging Thor tightly, almost tearful with joy. "I missed you so much, Thor…"

"And I you," Thor said.

Darcy shot Erik a nasty look. "I'm _not_ sorry to say I told you so," she told him coldly. Then, she walked over to Loki.

"Darcy," Loki breathed, setting Odin's staff aside to stand on its own beside him and putting his arms around her.

"I knew you'd come back," Darcy said, returning his embrace.

"Erik doubted me, I take it?" Loki said.

Darcy chuckled. "Yeah," she said.

Loki took a deep breath. He was with Darcy again. Odin wasn't going to take her from him - never again would he lose everything he had to the All-Father's cruelty. For a moment, he was able to simply know that everything would be alright, and forget that his ordeal was still far from over.

Then Darcy pulled back slightly to look him in the eye and asked, "So, what happened, anyway? Why did you have to leave before we got here?"

Loki glanced at Thor and exhaled heavily. "My brother nobly relinquished Mjolnir so the All-Father could use it for himself, and I didn't realize it until after we got here," he told Darcy. "We…went back to retrieve it."

"So you two made up?" Darcy asked, smiling.

Loki smiled back in spite of himself. "We were never quarreling to begin with," he told her; "it was a misunderstanding, nothing more."

Jane seemed unwilling to so much as loosen her embrace on Thor, so Thor's nod was easily unnoticeable; realizing this, Thor said aloud, "Just so. Once Loki told me what was really happening, I…was unable to do anything _but_ take his side."

"You were gone for a while, though," Jane said, still hugging Thor tightly; Loki didn't miss the fact that Thor was still hugging her back.

Loki took another breath. "Things…did not go as smoothly as they could have," he said hesitantly. "We were…unable…to leave before the battle was resolved."

"So it's over?" Darcy gasped.

"It is," Loki said, still hesitant; he hadn't quite realized, until the moment had come, the full implications of what he intended to ask of Darcy, and what Thor might ask of Jane. To ask the two mortals to leave their world behind forever was no small request, and for all his skill with words, Loki wasn't quite sure how he was to go about making it.

"So…who won?" Darcy asked. "I'm guessing the freezer people?"

"_Frost Giants_," Loki corrected, smiling in spite of everything. "And…yes."

Darcy grinned, and she hugged Loki again. "I'm glad to hear your dad got what he deserved," she told him.

Loki's smile faded, and though he hugged her back, he sighed gravely. "Odin still lives," he told her. "For the moment, that is. Not for much longer."

Darcy pulled back, her smile likewise gone. "What…?" she asked, confused. Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Jane pull back away from Thor slightly to look over at him, looking equally puzzled.

Loki sighed again. "I ended the battle myself," he told Darcy; "I used the Ice Casket against Odin, rendering him helpless…and I was about to kill him, when he told me…that he would dismantle all the passages between the realms in his final moments, forever trapping me and Thor on Asgard, so that we would not be able to return to you."

Darcy blinked. Surprisingly, it was Jane who spoke.

"You can't just let him get away with that," she said.

"Agreed," Loki said, nodding at her; "however, I…Well…" He trailed off, still unsure how to say it.

"What are you thinking?" Darcy asked him. "You must have a plan."

Loki looked into Darcy's eyes. "Darcy…" He sighed. "It matters not to me which realm I live in, so long as I have you by my side - you are home to me, no matter what," he told her. "Circumstances dictate that Odin must die on Asgard, and I would rather his death come by my hand than that of another, so…" He took a deep breath. "Will you come with me to Asgard, and spend the rest of your days by my side?" he asked.

Darcy's jaw dropped, her eyes wide.

"I realize it's a lot to ask," Loki said quickly, seeing this, "but-"

"No," Darcy interrupted. "I mean, yes. Yes, I'll live on Asgard with you. Yes!"

Loki's brain took a moment to absorb her answer; then, he hugged her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered to her, relieved.

"It's okay," Darcy told him. "Honestly, I don't care where I am as long as I'm with you, either."

"Thank you," was all Loki could say.

Loki heard Thor take a breath beside him. "Jane," Thor said.

"Thor?" Jane asked.

"Our time together has been too short, both my first time in this realm and now, so this may seem strange," Thor told Jane, "but…I would have you in my life, for as long as life will allow. So…will you join me on Asgard, for the rest of your days? If not…I'm afraid this will be goodbye."

Jane gasped, and Loki could almost hear Thor holding his breath. He looked over at the two of them, and though there was silence for a minute, Loki knew, before Jane spoke, what her answer would be.

"Yes," Jane said, her face alight with a joy Loki had never seen in her before. "Yes, I'll join you on Asgard."

"What?" Erik exclaimed from his short distance away. "Jane, no!"

Loki, Jane, Darcy, and Thor all jumped; all of them, for various reasons, had almost forgotten about Erik. Now, they all turned to look at him as he walked quickly over to Jane.

"Erik…" Jane said.

"Jane, think about this," Erik told Jane, reaching her. "You _can't_ go. Your research, your life's work…!"

Jane just shook her head, smiling. "Erik, don't you get it?" she asked him. "I've _made_ my great discovery!" She turned back to Thor. "And I'm not letting it go again," she finished, as much to Thor as to Erik.

Thor smiled. Erik shook his head again.

"Jane, you need to think about this," he said. "This isn't something you can just decide on a whim-"

"Erik, if you wish to join us on Asgard as well, you are of course most welcome to," Thor said, interrupting Erik.

Loki turned to Thor, surprised. "He is?" he asked.

"Of course he is," Thor said, smiling.

Loki looked between Erik and Thor for a minute…and suddenly, he understood.

It was with a great amount of effort that he suppressed the urge to laugh. "Of course you may, Erik," he said. "That said, I won't take you to Asgard against your will - it's entirely up to you."

"Come with us, Erik!" Jane pleaded, pressing her hands together. "Please?"

Erik looked back and forth between Jane and Thor for a minute.

"Okay," he said at last. "Yeah, okay, I'll come…but only for Jane," he added to Thor sternly.

Thor inclined his head. "Of course," he said, still smiling.

Loki smiled, too. "Well then, it's decided," he said. "We needn't waste any more time. Now, I can only carry two at once, as I have but two hands." He held out a hand to Jane, reaching for Odin's staff with his other hand. "Darcy, Jane, I will ferry the two of you first; Erik and Thor, I advise you to stand back."

Thor nodded and stepped out of the gate, Erik following behind; Thor and Jane shared a soulful look as he stepped back. Darcy ran over to where she had set down Loki's helmet and grabbed it, carrying it in one hand by one of the horns, then ran back over to Loki. Loki put his hand over Odin's staff again, and Darcy, not needing instruction, intertwined her hand with his around the shaft. Jane hesitated a moment, then took Loki's other hand. Loki smiled, then turned skyward, activated the gate, and carried the two mortal women to Asgard, leaving Erik and Thor behind to await their turn.

~o~

When Jane, Loki, and Darcy arrived on Asgard, Jane was speechless for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh my god! That was _amazing_!"

Loki turned to her and smiled. "I doubt there are many in the universe who can appreciate the experience of traveling between the realms as I'm sure you do," he told her. "I hope you enjoyed it…especially as you will not be able to experience it again."

Jane was positively aglow as she met Loki's eyes. "I just travelled through an Einstein-Rosen bridge," she said, enunciating clearly. "That's something every astrophysicist only _dreams_ of! I'm grateful that I even got to experience it _once_!"

Loki's smile widened; Jane's mood was almost infectious. "It's good to see you so happy," he told her. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this."

Jane's smile turned slightly embarrassed, and she pushed her hair behind her ear in a nervous tic. "I'm sorry," she told him; "I know I've been…_really_ out of it, since you came and told me Thor wouldn't be coming."

Loki nodded. "It's alright," he told her.

Jane looked up, suddenly noticing the Asgardian night sky. "Oh my god," she breathed. "This is _incredible_…"

"Loki!"

Loki turned, and noticed at last that Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and Heimdall were standing together just outside the boundary of the trans-realm gateway. Jane was too entranced by the celestial wonders visible in the Asgardian sky at night to even hear Sif, but Darcy said, "Oh, hey, it's you guys. Nice to see you again."

The Asgardians ignored Darcy.

"Where is Thor?" Hogun demanded of Loki.

"Is that all you have to say?" Loki asked coolly in reply. "We've not seen each other in over two years, and those are your first words to me, _my friend_?" His voice dripped with sarcasm as he spoke the last two words.

"Yeah," Darcy piped up; "I mean, the least you can do is say 'hi' before you start demanding to know where Thor is."

The Asgardians all faltered, giving Darcy an odd look. Loki suppressed a smile.

Finally, Sif gathered herself enough to give Loki a cold look and ask, "Where is Thor?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll go retrieve him for you, since you clearly aren't capable of doing anything unless you're following his lead," he replied mockingly. "Darcy, Jane, please step back so I can use the gate safely; Fandral, keep your hands off Darcy or I'll have your head." He gave Darcy a very subtle wink, which she nonetheless caught, as she took Jane by the arm and moved her and herself out of his way, and then he was gone again.

Darcy smiled at the warriors, particularly Fandral. "He's joking," she told them good-naturedly. "Well, kind of. Anyway, like I said, it's nice to see you guys again. Kind of."

"Huh?" Jane said, finally tearing her gaze away from the sky to look at the Asgardians grouped before her. "Oh, uh, hi. I remember you." She noticed Heimdall and amended, "Well, _most_ of you…"

"It's Jane, yes?" Sif asked, smiling just enough to be friendly. "I remember you as well."

"Yeah," Jane said. "Um…It's Sif, right?"

"Yes," Sif said, nodding.

Jane nodded back. "Hello again." She looked at the Warriors Three embarrassedly. "I'm sorry, I…don't remember your names…"

"I do," Darcy said; "Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg, right?" She turned to each of the Warriors in turn as she named them.

The Three all nodded. "Yes," Volstagg said. "I'm afraid I don't remember _you_…" He turned to his friends for support.

"Darcy, right?" Fandral asked.

Darcy laughed. "Of course _you'd_ remember me," she joked.

Jane turned to Heimdall. "Hello," she said to him. "I don't believe we've met…?"

"I am Heimdall, former Gatekeeper of Asgard," Heimdall told her.

"Oh, right, Loki told me about you," Darcy said. "You're like Odin, right? You can see and hear anything."

Heimdall inclined his head. "I can observe anything I turn my gaze upon, no matter where in the realms it might be," he confirmed. He paused, then added, "My power is limited to observing, however; understanding does not always come so easily."

"So, in other words, you can see anything, anywhere, but you don't always understand what you see?" Darcy asked slowly.

Heimdall nodded.

"Why don't you just _say_ that?" Darcy asked exasperatedly.

"Do either of you know what's going on?" Sif asked Darcy intently, not giving Heimdall time to respond.

"Yeah," Darcy said, shrugging, "but it's not our place to tell you. You should let Loki explain things when he feels like it."

"Why are you even here?" Fandral asked, puzzled. "I mean, not that I'm displeased to see you," he added quickly, "but-"

"Save it," Darcy said, neatly cutting him off and smiling, "I'm Loki's girl now; and again, I'll leave it to him to explain things to you."

It was at that moment that the sky lit up, and Loki returned, carrying Erik and Thor with him.

"Thor!" Sif exclaimed the moment Thor had fully arrived.

"Sif," Thor acknowledged, nodding to her. He stepped over to Jane, who had already started gravitating towards him.

Jane smiled luminously at Thor as they reached each other, then turned to Erik. "Erik, look at all this!" she whispered to him, though she hadn't needed to - Erik was already looking at the sky in silent, poorly-concealed wonder.

"Thor, what's going on?" Fandral asked. "We know Odin still lives; why have you declared defeat?"

"I will leave that to my brother to explain," Thor told Fandral; "it is his story to tell."

"And I shall," Loki said, sweeping his gaze across the many and varied attendants, "but not just now. Everything is in place, and it is time for the All-Father to be put to death at last; before he dies, I will explain everything to him, for I want him to understand exactly what has led to the events of this night. If you wish to understand what is happening, you may attend and hear me speak then. It is a story I will not tell more than once."

As soon as he finished speaking, he broke into a brisk stride, heading back towards the palace. After a beat, Darcy quickly jogged up to be by his side, immediately followed by Thor, Jane, and Erik. Heimdall was the first of the Asgardian warriors to collect himself enough to join the procession, falling into step behind his king; a moment after that, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three joined him.

~o~

By the time they reached the palace, both the battlefield outside and the interior of the palace were completely devoid of Jotuns. Outside, the Asgardians were gathering their dead. Loki took particular note of the fact that the fallen Jotuns were being shown no form of reverence or respect; though it pained him, he supposed that was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of getting all the surviving Jotuns home before the realms were cut off from one another forever. With luck, he might be able to do something for the Jotun dead after justice had been delivered.

Inside, the palace was completely empty - almost eerily so. Everyone in the procession was silent, for varying reasons.

Suddenly, a short way past the throne room, a voice echoed from around a corner in the halls.

"Thor, is that you? The Frost Giants all walked through here without so much as a word - I don't understand what-"

The speaker rounded the corner and froze. As soon as Loki saw her, he stopped in his tracks; behind him, everyone else likewise stilled.

For a minute, no one moved.

"Loki…?" the queen finally breathed.

"Mother," Loki choked softly. The mere sight of her brought tears to his eyes - he hadn't thought of the fact that returning to a life on Asgard would mean seeing her again…

Another moment passed in stillness. Then, suddenly, Frigga ran at Loki and threw her arms around him. He returned her embrace tightly, barely able to restrain his tears.

"Loki!" the queen sobbed. "Oh, Loki, my son! I've missed you so much!"

"And I you, Mother," Loki whispered.

She had given him up for dead and gone, and he had given up all hope of ever returning home - it was the moment neither of them had thought would ever come. Now that it had, for a moment, nothing else mattered; Loki took comfort in his mother's arms, and she in his presence, allowing pain both of them had carried for so long to finally alleviate.

Of course, it couldn't last, and after a moment, the queen pulled back to look Loki in the eye and asked, "How is it that you've returned? Did you convince the Jotuns to leave, is that what happened?"

Loki met his mother's eyes and fully realized exactly what he was about to do; the realization was a knife in his heart. "Not…exactly," he replied hesitantly.

Frigga shook her head slightly; she knew Loki well enough to know that something was going on that she ought to be worried about, but what mattered most to her just then was that he had finally come home, and she wanted him to feel as though he could tell her anything. It was in shaking her head that she caught sight of Darcy, who was carrying Loki's helmet.

"And who is this?" she asked, looking puzzledly at Darcy.

"Oh!" Loki held out his hand to Darcy. "Darcy, this is Frigga, Queen of Asgard," he told her. "Mother, this is Darcy…my consort."

Frigga blinked in surprise. "Oh," she said. "I…was not aware…"

Darcy held out her free hand. "It's nice to meet you," she said, without so much as a bow or a 'Your Majesty'.

Loki couldn't help but smile, deciding not to reprimand her for what amounted to outright rudeness on Asgard. Frigga blinked again, offset by Darcy's informality - no one had ever addressed her like that in her long life. In her confusion, the queen's eyes turned on the rest of the group in front of her, and she caught sight of Jane, noting how close the mortal was standing to Thor.

"You must be Jane," she said, stepping forward.

"Oh, uh, yes," Jane said nervously, taking the hand Loki's mother offered to her. "Er, it's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she added.

Frigga smiled at Jane warmly. "Thank you, for helping my son," she told Jane, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, no problem," Jane said, flustered.

"Hey, don't _I_ get a thank-you for helping Loki?" Darcy asked indignantly.

"Darcy," Loki said gently.

Frigga turned to Darcy. "Oh, did you?" she asked.

"She did," Loki told his mother before Darcy could dig herself into a deeper hole. "I would be lost without her."

Frigga directed another warm smile at Darcy, finally taking her hand and shaking it. "Then you do, of course, have my gratitude," she told her.

"You're welcome," Darcy said with a smile.

"Mother," Loki said quickly. When the queen turned to him, he gestured at Erik and said, "This is Erik, a friend of Jane's."

Erik inclined his head. "Your Majesty," he said formally, much to Loki's relief.

Frigga was reduced to a slight smile of acknowledgement, too bewildered to do much more. She looked between Loki and Thor, unsure which son to ask. "I don't understand," she told them. "Why have these mortals come to Asgard?"

Thor averted his mother's eyes; Loki sighed heavily. The queen knew that this was a very bad sign.

"Mother…" Loki said hesitantly.

Loki's mother turned to him, confusion and worry in her eyes.

Loki took a breath, deciding to just come out and say it. "Odin is about to die," he told her.

The queen gasped, her eyes widening. "What…?" she breathed, shocked.

"There is no help for it," Loki told her gently; "it must be done, for the good of all the realms. The end of the war with Jotunheim is conditional on his death…as are…several other things."

Frigga shook her head. "I don't understand…"

"He would have died already, but he threatened to cut off all passages between the realms upon the moment of his death," Loki went on. "Therefore, his execution was put on hold until arrangements could be made that would make that as little of a problem as possible. That is why Darcy, Erik, and Jane have come to Asgard - Darcy is going to stay with me, and Jane is going to stay with Thor; Erik decided to join them here, and he will be allowed to." He took another breath. "Now, nothing remains but Odin's death." He hesitated.

Frigga shook her head again. "Loki, I still don't-"

"I am the one who is to slay him," Loki finally told her.

The queen was shocked into silence.

"I'm sorry," Loki told her remorsefully. "I am truly sorry for the pain this will cause you…but it must be done. In truth, this day is too long in coming as it is."

"Loki…you mustn't," Frigga told him, tears coming to her eyes. "You mustn't blame him-"

"Then who am I to blame?" Loki challenged her softly. He hated that he was going to hurt her like this, but it wasn't going to be enough to stop him.

"Loki…"

"This is the way it must be," Loki told his mother. "I must kill him. It's for the good of everyone." He sighed, then went on, "I know you don't understand. If you wish to understand fully…you will have to attend his execution. I intend to explain to him exactly how and why he is about to die; it is a long story, and one I'd rather not tell more than once." He hesitated, then added, "Of course, I can understand if you cannot bring yourself to bear witness to Odin's death; just know that you will have to, if you are to understand why it must be done."

The queen shook her head, rendered speechless. In her silence, however, another found their voice.

"And what makes you think we will stand by and allow this to happen?" Sif asked from behind Loki.

Loki turned to Sif. "Do you intend to attempt to stop me?" he asked coldly. He shook his head disgustedly. "I would like to see you try."

Sif began to ready her weapon, but Thor held out a hand.

"Sif," he said.

Sif hesitated and looked at Thor.

"This is the way it must be," Thor told Sif, repeating Loki's words. "I realize you don't understand, but as your king, I am ordering you to not interfere." He glanced at the rest of the Asgardian warriors. "That goes for all of you," he added to them.

Sif blinked, bewildered. "Thor…why would you not fight to defend your father?" she asked him.

"Because the alternative is worse," Thor answered solemnly. "It is for the best, and only fair, that Father should die."

"_Fair_?" Fandral repeated incredulously.

"Yes, fair," Loki snapped at him. He glared at all the warriors. "You do not understand what has led to this night, and because of that, you have no place in deciding what is and is not the right course of action," he told them. "If you still object after I've explained everything, then perhaps I will hear you; until then, hold your tongues, all of you!" He shook his head. "Come," he told them, turning back around; "the sooner this is over and done with, the better." He glanced at the queen. "You are welcome to join in bearing witness to this, Mother, though I understand if you would rather not. Know that I will not explain the events that led to this a second time, though - not even for you."

With that, Loki resumed walking to the armory, more deliberately than before. Darcy quickly jogged up to his side and joined him; Jane, Erik, Thor, Heimdall, Sif, and the Warriors Three followed after a moment. Frigga looked to Thor for guidance as he passed, but he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. The group passed her by, and she turned to watch them go. After a minute, she made up her mind, and followed after them.

They all proceeded thus to the execution of Odin All-Father.


	28. Chapter 28

When he opened the door to the armory, Loki was met by the sight of Yardaff and Enchessa standing in the gate to Jotunheim. Yardaff was still holding the Ice Casket, and Enchessa, Loki noticed, was holding the decree of her exile. It occurred to him that, if _all_ of the passages between _all_ of the realms were to be dismantled, she would not be _able_ to go into exile in Hel, and he wondered what would become of her.

"Yardaff," Loki greeted his brother, making the traditional Jotun gesture of respect.

"Loki," Yardaff said, returning the gesture.

"Silvertongue," Enchessa said at the same time, also returning the gesture.

They stood. Yardaff looked at the crowd behind Loki, and his glowing red eyes found Darcy. "Ah," he said, "I see."

Loki smiled. "Have all the Jotuns returned to Jotunheim?" he asked.

"Yes," Yardaff confirmed with a nod; "everyone is where they belong, save myself and Enchessa."

"What will her fate be?" Loki asked curiously.

"My Lord has yet to decide," Enchessa answered. "We were waiting to hear what your plan is."

"My plan is for everyone to be in the realm they should be when the gates between the realms are dismantled," Loki said. He looked at Yardaff. "Brother, you have more right than anyone to bear witness to Odin's death - it would be wrong if you did not," he told him. "The destruction of all the gates between the realms will not - _can_ not - be an instantaneous feat; you ought to have a few seconds to activate the gate and return to Jotunheim once you've seen Odin's blood spilled."

Yardaff nodded to show that he understood.

"This means that Enchessa will have to return with you to Jotunheim, or live out her exile here on Asgard," Loki went on. He looked at Enchessa. "Unless you would rather attempt to find a gate from here to Hel in the time we have left?"

"The chances that I would be able to do so are slim to none," Enchessa pointed out. She turned to Yardaff. "What do you decree, My Lord?"

Yardaff thought for a minute. "I will not abandon you to live here," he told her at last; "you may return to Jotunheim with me…but you will still be ostracized by all Jotuns."

Enchessa bowed her head. "As you say, My Lord," she said.

"You're taking this extremely well," Loki commented.

Enchessa looked at Loki, and a spark of her usual contempt flickered in her eyes. "Such is the nature of a royal decree," she hissed. "I must do as Yardaff says."

_Jotun magic is very powerful indeed, to have this sort of effect on _her_,_ Loki thought, but he didn't discuss the issue any further. "Where is Odin?" he asked Yardaff instead.

"I'm here, boy!" spat a contemptuous voice from further inside the armory.

Loki turned and saw that Odin was a short ways down the walkway beyond the bottom of the stairs. He was encased in ice from the neck down - Yardaff must have freed his head a short time beforehand so that the All-Father would not suffocate. The hatred in the glare Odin was directing at Loki was almost as intense as the that in the glare Loki gave him in turn.

Slowly, Loki walked down the steps. When he reached the bottom, he thought of something, and he turned back to the audience behind him.

"You will need to move out of the way," he told the Asgardians and humans in the crowd; "it isn't safe for you to be standing in the gate to Jotunheim when Yardaff and Enchessa return home."

"We can't see where it is," Darcy pointed out.

Loki smiled at her for a moment. "Enchessa and Yardaff are standing at the center of the gate right now," he told them; "if you move far enough away from them, it should be safe."

The Asgardians in attendance all walked a distance down the steps, until they were all near the bottom; Darcy, Jane, and Erik moved to the other side of the staircase, away from Yardaff and Enchessa.

Loki looked carefully, then nodded. "That will do," he told them. Then, his expression darkened, and he turned back to Odin.

"Release me at once!" Odin barked at him.

Loki chuckled coldly. "Still going on about that, are you?" he asked mockingly. He shook his head, a cruel smile on his face. "You know I cannot do that, not considering what it would mean, and not after everything you've done," he told him. He paused for a moment to set Odin's staff aside, leaving it standing up on its own beside him, then continued, "I do not think you are truly aware of the events that have led to this, though, and I would not have it this way. I want you to know exactly why you are about to die; perhaps then, you will be able to perish with some shred of dignity." He turned to the attendants behind him, still smiling wickedly. "If our audience will indulge us…?"

"For the love of all that's good, _speak_!" Volstagg exclaimed. "Tell us!"

Loki chuckled at Volstagg's frustration. "I had to be sure," he said. He turned back to Odin.

"All-Father, the events that have led to this night began long before you were even born," Loki told him. He glanced back at Yardaff. "Yardaff, if my words should deviate at all from the truth, do not allow them to go uncorrected," he told him.

"I will not," Yardaff avowed.

Loki nodded, then turned to Odin again. "It was your father, not you, who bore witness to the beginning of the great wars, wasn't it?" he asked him.

"I do not see what that has to do with-!"

"Wasn't it?" Loki asked again.

"…It was," Odin admitted after a moment. "But why does that matter?"

"Because it was your father who _began_ them," Loki answered. "The Jotuns did not initiate the hostilities, in _any_ realm - your father sought glorious battles, and attacked the realms, one by one, in search of a worthy opponent. Any realm that could not stand up to his armies was devastated, its people enslaved. Four realms fell before his might before he came upon Jotunheim." He glanced back at Yardaff again. "It was four realms that fell, yes?" he asked.

"Yes," Yardaff confirmed, "and Earth among them, so the story goes."

Loki nodded and turned to Odin again. "The Jotuns are not a race of warriors, but they were able to hold their own against the armies of Asgard," he continued. "As with you, Laufey had not yet been born, and it was his father who saw the war begin. The Jotuns recognized what your father was doing, and because they had the strength, they felt obligated to lend aid to the realms that had fallen."

"What proof have you of any of this?" Odin demanded spitefully.

"Well, what proof do _you_ have that I'm wrong?" Loki asked in reply. "I know, only too well, the story you have told your people about what happened; what I am telling you now is the tale told in Jotunheim…and considering what I've learned of Jotun society from my year and five days spent there, I am more inclined to believe their side of the story."

"The Frost Giants were not acting to save anyone!" Odin snarled. "They slew mortals as thoughtlessly as they did our warriors!"

"Our mistake, All-Father, was in crediting your kind with far too much cunning," Yardaff spoke up. "Asgardians and mortals are indistinguishable save for their garments, and had this been the case with us, we would have disguised a number of our soldiers as innocents; we assumed you would do the same. We overestimated you - we did not realize your kind rely on brute force alone. It was a mistake, but in our defense, we knew no better."

"And it makes sense that us humans would have gotten things wrong," Darcy added without missing a beat, as though she and Yardaff had planned this ahead of time. "I mean, like you said, Asgardians look like us, and the freezer people…um…don't. Even if both sides were killing us, it totally makes sense that we would have worshipped the Asgardians as gods and feared the freezer people as monsters."

"But how do you know what the king of Jotunheim was thinking?" Jane asked Yardaff. "I mean, your _father_ hadn't even been born yet, but you're talking like you were there!"

Loki chuckled. "Jane, the Jotuns have a sense of equality and unity unfathomable by Asgardians and mortals alike," he told her. "A Frost Giant's ancestors are never truly gone, not even in death." He thought for a second, then added. "It's a matter of culture - I'd rather we not waste time on it just now. To clarify, no, Yardaff had not yet been born at the time of the great wars, but he knows the story from the many times he's heard it retold over the course of his life." He turned back to Odin again. "Just as _I_ grew up listening to your _lies_," he hissed.

"I know only what my father before me-" Odin began.

Loki held up a hand, silencing him. "I do not believe you were ever aware of the true nature of the great wars," he told him; "though your stories are lies, they are your father's lies, not yours, and likewise, they are not the lies of which I speak. I will get to that in a moment, however.

"To continue, your father and Laufey's father warred with each other for many years before your birth. Your father was thrilled to have discovered a worthy opponent in the people of Jotunheim, and he began pouring his resources into the fight, his quest to conquer the remaining four realms - and, presumably, his conquest of the fallen realms as well - almost, if not entirely, forgotten." Loki inclined his head. "I believe that he believed his own lies when he told you his stories about the evil nature of the Frost Giants; whether or not he _truly_ did matters not."

"My father was not-!" Odin began furiously.

"Be silent!" Loki snapped. "Perhaps, when my tale is done, I will give you time to speak; until then, _hold your tongue_!"

"How dare you?" Odin roared.

Loki smiled cruelly. "You would do well to keep in mind who has the power now, _All-Father_," he said mockingly. To emphasize his point, he raised his hand and flicked his first two fingers at Odin.

Odin cried out in pain, jolted by the bolt of magic Loki had tossed his way.

Loki heard Frigga gasp behind him; at the same time, a strange sensation tugged at his heart. _It doesn't matter,_ he told himself, and he forced his smile to not falter. "Will you be silent?" he asked Odin out loud.

Odin gave Loki a lethal glare, but said nothing.

Loki's twisted smile widened. "Good," he said. "Moving on.

"When you rose to power, you were better able to unite the armies of Asgard than your father before you. The Jotuns say it was because your were of a clearer mind and a purer heart than he; I for one shudder to think what your father must have been like if that's truly the case."

Darcy snickered, but Loki ignored her, and he began pacing as he spoke.

"From there, the war proceeded more or less as you say - that is, the Asgardians drove the Frost Giants back into their realm, and Laufey, who had inherited the war to save the realms from Asgardian tyranny from his father, fell before your might." He paused to look Odin straight in the eye. "Laufey was deeply ashamed to have failed to finish what his father began…until, instead of slaying him, you offered a truce. When you did that, Laufey realized that the universe was safe, and that it was not a true loss, and he readily accepted." He gave a sly half-smile. "Tell me, All-Father," he said: "Did Laufey's surrender surprise you in any way?"

"Am I not to be silent?" Odin asked mockingly.

Loki's expression sharpened. "Do not toy with me, you old fool!" he snapped, and he tossed another bolt of magic at Odin, causing the All-Father to cry out again. Again, something strange tugged at Loki's heart at the sound, and again, he forced himself to ignore it. "Answer me," he hissed at Odin.

Odin glared at Loki. "Laufey knew that to continue the war would mean the end of his people," he said; "of course he accepted the truce readily, given that the war was a lost cause."

Loki shook his head. "No," he said; "Laufey readily accepted the truce because it meant that you wouldn't destroy _any_ of the realms - that he had not failed to carry out his father's mission. In fact, for a brief moment, he even had hope that our two races might one day reconcile." Loki's expression darkened. "But then, after you and your armies left Jotunheim and returned here to Asgard, he went to the temple to retrieve his infant son, whom he had left there for the child's own safety…and discovered that the boy was nowhere to be found. He searched the entire realm for his child - his _first-born son_ - and found nothing, not even a corpse. He could only conclude that you had killed the child and taken the body back as a war trophy, and he swore that one day, he would slay you and avenge his son." He turned back to Yardaff. "Yardaff, if I may tell of the nature of Laufey's pledge…?"

"I will tell them," Yardaff said. Everyone turned to the Frost Giant prince as he directed his attention at Odin. "All-Father, do you see the crystal that the Lady Enchessa is holding?" he asked him. Enchessa held up the decree of her banishment for emphasis.

Odin nodded. "I see it," he said.

"That is a Jotun royal decree," Yardaff told him. "Jotuns of royal blood have the power, once in their lifetime, to conjure one, provided two other Jotuns of significant social standing bear witness; this one is mine. Whatever is decreed when a royal decree is conjured is binding to anyone with so much as a drop of Jotun blood in their veins. This one decrees that the Lady Enchessa go to exile in Hel unless I should see fit to declare otherwise, which I have; were it not for what you intend to do, the power of this decree would drive her to seek out the gate to her own exile herself."

"I cannot even protest," Enchessa added. "I must accept and obey - I am powerless to do otherwise."

"Laufey also made a royal decree - and keep in mind that a Jotun of royal blood may only conjure one royal decree in his or her entire lifetime," Loki said. Everyone returned their attention to him; he directed his attention back to Odin. "When Laufey concluded that you had killed his first-born child - a defenseless infant - he made a royal decree that your deed would be neither forgiven nor forgotten by any Jotun, and, again, that he would one day slay you and avenge his son. _That_, All-Father, is the reason for the animosity that stands between Asgard and Jotunheim today…or at least, that which stood between the realms just over two years ago." Loki smiled wickedly and turned to his audience. "What Laufey did _not_ know was that his son still lived," he told them all. "He had no way of knowing that his first-born son had been taken _alive_, and was being raised in another realm, completely unaware of his origins." He chuckled, his evil smile widening, and he directed his attention specifically at Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. "My friends," he said, spreading his arms, "behold…the first-born son of Laufey." He called forth the ice of his race, pushing aside as much of Odin's curse as could be pushed aside and revealing his blue-gray skin, facial markings, and glowing red eyes.

Hogun's eyes widened, Volstagg and Fandral's jaws dropped, and Sif actually gasped and jumped back slightly. Loki also heard Frigga gasp, and even Heimdall blinked.

Loki laughed coldly. "Sif, the look on your face right now is truly priceless," he told the Asgardian maiden; "know that I will cherish the memory of it for as long as I live."

He turned back to Odin, who was staring at him, aghast.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Loki spat, still in his Jotun form. "You knew my whole life that this was my true form. You saw it in me every day - don't pretend that you didn't!"

"How could you so easily…?" Odin was too shocked to finish his question.

"Oh, this?" Loki asked, lifting a gray-blue hand. He laughed at Odin coldly. "You underestimate me, All-Father," he hissed.

Something sparked in Odin's eyes that Loki had never seen there before: apprehension.

Loki chuckled. Then, he reburied his Jotun form, his expression darkening once more. "You took me from my home," he said to Odin with icy fury. "You had no right to take me away, to curse me with an Asgardian body, to tell me that I was your son, all so that you could _use_ me."

"No, Loki!"

It was not Odin, but Frigga, who spoke. Loki turned to her.

"Loki-" Frigga began, stepping forward.

Loki held up a hand, and though it pained him, he cast a spell to bind her in place. "I'm sorry, Mother," he told her, sad but determined. "I know you had no part in my abuse, and truly attempted to treat me as your son…but this goes far beyond you, and you may not interfere."

"Loki…" Frigga whispered tearfully. She struggled to move, but Loki's magic was too strong.

"I'm sorry," Loki told her again, and he turned back to Odin.

"What have you become?" Odin asked disgustedly.

"Nothing _you_ didn't make of me," Loki replied coolly, "and now is not your time to speak. You've brought all of this upon yourself; now let me tell you why.

"As I was growing up, you never said anything to suggest that I might not be your son, so I believed that I was," Loki said as he resumed pacing. "I believed that I was Loki Odinsson, second-born to the great and wise king of the Realm Eternal, and no less worthy of the name merely for being younger than my dear brother, Thor. Indeed, you imparted your wisdom to both of us equally - your expectations of us _appeared_ to be equally high, based on the lessons you tried to teach us both when we were young."

Loki took a breath, bracing himself for the pain he knew would come with the memories he was about to relive and the words he was about to speak. "I respected you, Odin," he told the All-Father. "I loved you…You were my father, and I idolized you. Every lesson you tried to teach us, I dedicated myself to learning; I committed your every word to memory, and spent every waking moment of my early years working to be worthy of your name. Your legacy was a great one - one I wanted nothing more than to be worthy of inheriting. I wanted only to be your son…to make you proud of me." He felt his voice starting to crack, and he paused for a moment to collect himself.

Behind him, the audience's expressions varied greatly, ranging between wrathful (Yardaff), sad (Darcy), guilty (Thor), and confused (Sif), but Loki cared only about the look on Odin's face…which was one of absolute indifference.

He took another breath, telling himself it was better than outright disdain, and continued, "I realized quickly that I _was_ different…Mother told me that you kept the truth about what I was from me so that I would never feel different, but I always did. Fighting never held the same appeal for me as it seemed to for everyone else, and compared to most Asgardians, I was weak when it came to basic strength; but you always told me - and Thor - that there is a great deal more to being a leader than brute force. You taught us things such as wisdom and patience, and in areas such as these, I excelled…but you never commended me for it. I worked hard - with dedication and honesty - but for some reason, you never even seemed to notice.

"Meanwhile, Thor grew up alongside me, and unlike me, he was a great warrior." Loki stopped and turned to his Asgardian brother. "Thor, if anything I say should deviate at all from the truth, do not allow me to go uncorrected," he charged him.

Thor met Loki's eyes momentarily and nodded. "I will not," he promised.

Loki returned his brother's nod and resumed pacing, turning his attention back to Odin. "Thor was very strong, even in our younger years. He was an enthusiastic fighter…a bit _too_ enthusiastic." A bit of bitterness and cynicism began to creep into Loki's voice. "He clung to your stories of great battles you'd won, of epic wars and glorious victories, and he dedicated himself well to his training as a warrior. Unlike me, however, he committed himself _only_ to becoming strong and winning battles. Your lessons about leadership and wisdom completely fell flat for him, and he ignored them. He was content to be nothing but another Asgardian brute." He paused, giving his brother a chance to protest, but Thor didn't deny the shameful truth.

"The name 'Odinsson' meant nothing to him," Loki went on bitterly. "He took all he had for granted, and paid you no mind. Just before you banished him, you accused him of having forgotten all that you'd taught him about a warrior's patience, but the truth is, he never learned anything from you to begin with! He was arrogant, reckless, _dangerous_ - unworthy of your name, and completely shameless!"

"Thor, why won't you speak?" Sif exclaimed.

Loki stopped, and everyone turned to Thor. Thor stared into the distance, and for a minute, there was a tense silence.

"What would you have me say?" Thor asked at last. "Would you have me deny what we all know to be true? I am not proud of it, but Loki is right. I never did listen to Father, nor was I worthy of anything I had."

"And which of us did you favor, All-Father?" Loki asked, turning back to Odin.

Everyone returned their attention to Loki.

"Which of us did you favor?" Loki asked Odin again. "The son who listened to you, who would have given anything to make you proud, who worked day and night to be worthy of your name? Or the son who ignored you, who pursued his own selfish ambitions heedless of your wisdom, who would have rather seen the realms at war than at peace because of the opportunities for glory it would provide?"

"How can you let Loki speak of you like this?" Fandral demanded of Thor.

"Because it is true," Thor answered distantly, still not looking at his friends. "I am grateful that you would defend me, but I do not deserve to be defended; Loki is speaking the truth, and though I am not proud to admit it or hear it said, my pride is a small sacrifice for what is right."

"Yes, you've changed a great deal since our youth," Loki said. "I mean you no offense with my tale, especially not considering how far you've come since."

At this, Thor finally met Loki's eyes. "I know," he said; "thank you."

Loki nodded, then turned to Odin again. "But which of us did you favor, All-Father?" he asked once more.

There was silence.

"You favored Thor," Loki finally answered for Odin. "You praised him, lavished all your favor on him, and passed me over as though I wasn't even there." He took a breath, again bracing himself against the pain of his past. "I could never understand why you seemed to be so biased in his favor…but I trusted you." His fists clenched. "I…_trusted_…you," he repeated, slowly and painfully. "I convinced myself that you were proud of his skills as a warrior - which I will not deny I lacked - and that, when the time came for you to name which of us would inherit the throne, you would choose the son who would uphold the values you preached." He paused, then added, "I never wanted the throne for myself - power was never my ambition. The only reason I ever wanted the throne at all is because I knew what would happen if Thor became king - of the terror and devastation his selfishness and arrogance would inflict upon the realms. I only wanted what was right…to defend the realms, and uphold the peace you had brought to the universe during your rule, and to serve the people as best as I could - to perform, to the best of my abilities, the duties and responsibilities that came with the name 'Odinsson'. I also did not, _ever_, act out of envy of my brother…" He turned and looked directly at Sif. "…no matter what some people might have said about me behind my back when they thought I could not hear," he added pointedly.

Sif flinched and averted her eyes. Loki smiled humorlessly and turned back to Odin.

"Naturally, the day came when you named your heir," he continued; "when Thor and I had both lived a thousand years, you declared which of us was more fit to inherit the throne…and when I heard your choice, I couldn't believe my own ears." Loki glared at Odin, and his voice turned harsh with bitterness. "_You named Thor_," he hissed. "Thor! The arrogant, battle-hungry _brat_, who would bring nothing but chaos and destruction to the universe!" He shook his head. "I couldn't believe it! How, I wondered, could you be so blind? How could you possibly not see what was right before your all-seeing eye?" Loki felt his own eyes sting with the beginnings of angry tears, and he closed his eyelids against them. "I had never…felt so confused," he said, his voice shaking. "I had never felt so…_betrayed_…so _hurt_. I had done nothing but work, tirelessly and honestly, to be worthy of your name…and it had meant nothing to you. _Nothing_!" His voice cracked, and he clenched his fists, fighting back his emotions.

For a minute, there was a deafening silence.

Finally, Loki trusted himself to speak, and he opened his eyes again, glaring at Odin. "You taught me something that day," he said, the pain in his voice changing to hatred. "That day, I learned that honest work would accomplish nothing - that the only way for me to get anywhere in life was to work _dis_honestly…and thus began my life as Loki the Trickster.

"After you named Thor as your heir, I began learning things on my own. I taught myself to deceive, to manipulate, to trick and lie and control. I found that I had a talent for it - a talent I would never have known I had, if only you had treated me fairly. I taught myself to outsmart others, and I discovered where my true strength lay - not in physical violence, but in cunning and intellect. I taught myself magic, and realized that, with cleverness and the right spells, I could hold my own in battle against much stronger foes. I found my own way.

"Of course, I still got no commendation from you, but like a fool, I still loved and trusted you. I convinced myself that, somehow, you must not have been able to see what was so clear to me. So, I dedicated my newly discovered talents to showing you what was right.

"I never forced anyone to do anything - all I ever had to do was tweak the circumstances of a given situation, and I could predict where things would go." Loki sighed. "I often hoped that my plans would fail at the outset," he told Odin, surprising everyone present. "I always hoped, every time I gave Thor a small prod in the wrong direction, that he would not react as I expected him to. I never truly wanted him to fail - he was my brother, and as such, I loved him, and I _wanted_ him to be worthy of your legacy; I only acted as I did because I knew he _wasn't_, and the good of the realms came before even my love for him. He always acted as I knew he would, though - he let me down, as frequently and reliably as he did you."

"Loki," Thor said softly.

Loki stopped and turned to Thor, and was surprised to see tears in his brother's eyes. "Yes?" he asked.

"Is that true?" Thor asked him. "Would you really have supported me, if I had deserved it? Did you truly…_wish_ to support me?"

Loki nodded. "Yes, brother," he told Thor, and it was true. "I realize I didn't show it as much as I should have…but you were my brother, and I _always_ loved you as such - no amount of pain I was forced to endure could have ever changed that." He hesitated, then added, "Even now, after all I've come to realize…I love you still."

Thor closed his eyes. "I do not deserve to have you for a brother," he choked softly.

"You mustn't blame yourself," Loki said, equally softly; "the fault was never yours."

Thor said nothing.

There was silence for a moment, and Loki reflected that, though it was strange to be telling the whole truth for once, he already felt better for it. Then, he turned back to Odin again, and resumed his tale.

"I used all the skill I could muster to manipulate circumstances in such a way that you would be forced to see Thor for what he was," he told the All-Father. "My plans always went exactly as I predicted - a few words whispered in the right ears at the right times, and everyone involved did exactly as I intended. I will not deny that it was entertaining - even empowering - to see some of Asgard's greatest people reduced to little more than my puppets, but I _did_ restrain myself from abusing my gifts for my amusement alone.

"I took into account every factor that I was aware of, and my plans always went perfectly…until the end, when you were supposed to finally acknowledge that it would be a mistake to entrust Thor with the throne. No matter how shamelessly and blatantly Thor flaunted his unworthiness in your face, you never so much as raised your voice at him! I couldn't understand it, and I kept trying, as I could think of nothing else…and, perhaps, I allowed myself to enjoy the results of my tricks a bit too much," Loki admitted. "Still, I couldn't stand by and do nothing, not with Thor's coronation imminent.

"Years passed, and plan after plan was executed and failed. Before I knew it, the day of Thor's coronation had come, and all my efforts had been for naught. In desperation, I did the only thing I could think to do." Loki took a breath, then confessed, "I went to Jotunheim, and lured three Jotuns to Asgard. I showed them the secret gate, and told them when they could take back the Ice Casket, for the people of Asgard would all be attending my brother's coronation, and there would be no guards. This was a lie, of course, but they were unaware of that. I didn't care. It didn't matter that a couple of Asgardian lives would be sacrificed - I _had_ to stop the ceremony. It was a necessary evil.

"Nothing enraged Thor as the Frost Giants did, I knew. I knew that the three Jotuns would fail, but that their very presence would drive my brother into a frenzy. I knew he would demand war with Jotunheim. As you surely recall, I was not wrong. In the event that you do not, I will refresh your memory.

"You stopped the ceremony to inspect the damage, All-Father, and Thor and I joined you. You were calm, unconcerned by the three Jotun miscreants who had failed and done little harm, while Thor thought of nothing but retribution. You and he argued. He raised his voice first, about to make his first declaration as King of Asgard…and you shouted at him, 'But you're _not_ king!'." Loki closed his eyes and took a breath. "I had waited…_so_ _long_…to hear you speak that way to him. For a brief, beautiful moment, I thought that I had finally succeeded - that I had saved the realms from Thor's reign of terror." Loki opened his eyes again. "And then you added, 'Not yet,'" he said.

There was silence.

"'Not yet,'" Loki repeated softly. He shook his head. "'Not yet'?" he repeated again, getting louder. "'Not _yet_'? After everything I'd done to make you see - after all of Thor's raving and raging, his arrogance and thirst for battle - all you had to say was, '_Not YET_'?"

The shout echoed in the room. Loki waited for the sound to die down before continuing.

He spread his hands and shook his head again. "I was at a loss," he said. "I didn't understand - it made no sense. But I had never come so close before, and I knew that if I acted quickly, I could worsen the situation - possibly enough to finally achieve what I'd worked for for so long." He sighed.

"Moments after your argument with him, my brother went to the banquet hall to sulk. I knew it was a weak moment for him, and I did not let it pass - I went to him, and I told him that I thought he was right. I spoke aloud, as fact, the very things he believed - the very things he wanted to hear - to fuel his madness…and then I told him that there was nothing he could do without disobeying you. The moment I said that, I saw it in his eyes: That was exactly what he was going to do, and there would be no stopping him…just as I knew would be the case.

"I tried to talk him down, but by then, it only encouraged him further - again, as I knew it would. Thor decided that he, I, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three would venture to Jotunheim in search of 'answers'…and, though he didn't say it aloud, a fight. Just before we left, I secretly informed a guard of what he was planning, and urged him to find you right away and tell you what was happening so that you could stop us before things got out of hand. For the first time in my life, however…things did _not_ go according to my plan." He paused.

There was silence; everyone except Odin was captivated by Loki's words.

"I never meant for us to reach Jotunheim at all," Loki told the All-Father. "I meant for the guard to find you and tell you about us right away, and for you to come and stop us before Heimdall even had a chance to open the Bifrost. I knew Thor would protest, and that you and he would argue some more; but this time, or so I planned, I would not remain silent and hope that things would work themselves out for the best - I would speak up, make it known that I would not act so rashly if I were the one in charge, that I would be wise and patient, as you would want your heir to be. But for some reason, the guard took an absurdly long time finding you and informing you of what was transpiring, and as a result, not only did we reach Jotunheim, but we were there long enough to have an exchange with Laufey himself, to be engaged in battle, and to give Laufey the perfect excuse to end the truce between Jotunheim and Asgard and begin the war again. And oh, the irony…it was in failing that my plan finally succeeded.

"I realize, All-Father, that, had things transpired as I had planned, I would still have failed, for you would have found some way to ignore Thor's impudence. However, because the events led to Laufey declaring war between Asgard and Jotunheim once again, you were unable to ignore what Thor was and had done. You still tried to reason with him, but he only shouted at you that you were 'an old man and a fool'…and finally, _finally_, you could allow for his arrogance no longer. When you admitted aloud that you had been a fool to think Thor ready to be King of Asgard, I saw my chance, and I stepped forward to say my piece…" Loki's glare sharpened. "…and you cut me off before I could say more than a single word," he hissed furiously. "Did you think I planned to take his side? I intended to _agree_ with you, Odin! I meant to say that perhaps Thor was unfit to rule, and that I might be a better candidate! But you refused to allow me to speak! Instead, you _banished_ Thor - took his powers from him and cast him to Earth! Did you even _think_ of me, even when you were forced to acknowledge what Thor was? No! You would have been content to wait _forever_ before so much as _considering_ me!" Loki stopped to catch his breath.

Odin's expression was completely nonplussed.

"After Thor's banishment, I was with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three as they discussed what they saw as a cruel, unjust punishment of their dear friend," Loki continued after a moment, his voice dripping with cynicism. "During the brief battle with the Frost Giants in Jotunheim, Volstagg had been wounded by a Jotun's frost touch, and the others were treating his wound. What none of them knew was that I, too, had been touched by a Jotun during the fight." As he always did when retelling this part of the story, Loki raised his left hand and looked at it, reliving the shock and confusion, which had metamorphosed into chilling understanding, that he had felt from the event. "One of them grabbed me by the wrist as I stabbed him…but his touch did not injure or burn me. Instead, he and I both watched as, from beneath his hand, my skin changed color to match his. It was the most peculiar sensation, not at all painful…as though ice that had been buried in my marrow was suddenly spreading through my flesh." He chuckled. "The Jotun and I both stared at my arm for a minute, then looked at each other, equally bewildered. To this day, I wonder if he understood what he saw - if he realized that what he was witnessing was the breaking of a curse inflicted on the long-lost crown prince of his realm. In any case, it matters not; I slew him, and after I was freed from his grip, the change undid itself. At the time, I was unable to wonder about it; but while Volstagg's burn was being treated, I thought back on that moment…and slowly, an idea came to me. It was an unlikely idea, as absurd as it was terrifying, but it was not impossible to test. I merely needed to expose myself to Jotun essence once more.

"So I came down here, to where the Ice Casket was being kept…and took hold of it myself."

Loki took a breath. "From the moment I touched it, I felt its power flow through me," he told Odin. "It was as though the relic had merged with my body - I could channel its power as though I had been meant to wield it, as though it had been _created_ for me. My hands changed color, the change slowly making its way up my arms and through my body, as your curse was counteracted…and at last, I understood. It was terrible, but finally, everything made sense.

"You then came and found me, and I finally got you to tell me the truth, about who and what I am, and where I came from."

Odin nodded wordlessly, his face still carved in stone.

"I then asked you why," Loki continued, "and you told me that you had taken me in the hopes of one day uniting the kingdoms of Asgard and Jotunheim through me, and bringing about a lasting peace. Ironic, really, seeing as how the animosity you sought to end was _caused_ by your action."

"So you say," Odin commented spitefully.

"And so I say," Yardaff spoke up; "and so my father said."

Odin shook his head and opened his mouth.

"Be silent!" Loki commanded before the All-Father could say a word. "Now is not your time to speak!"

Odin glared at Loki but obeyed.

"I was nothing but a tool to you," Loki hissed. "I was a means to an end, nothing more - I was never truly your son in your eyes. All my life, I had been abused and lied to…and as I came to realize this, you collapsed into the Odin Sleep, so that you could not even answer to the pain you had forced me through. You abandoned me, when I needed you the most. You see, even though you had done nothing but hurt me, I still loved you - I still refused to believe the simple truth that I could never be your son. I was confused, unwilling to let go of the beliefs I'd held about you for so long." Loki closed his eyes and sighed. "So…I was left to arrive at false conclusions. Given the fact that you, Thor, and Mother had all been rendered unable to rule, I was given temporary power over Asgard…and I was determined to not allow my brief window of opportunity to go to waste.

"Given sudden knowledge and power, and perhaps not quite as clear-headed as I would have been otherwise, I came up with a plan to prove to you that I was worthy of your name despite my blood. The plan was convoluted and doomed to fail, but I convinced myself that, if I could just prove to you that blood meant nothing to me - that you were my father, and that I wanted nothing more or less than to be a worthy son to you - I might still stand a chance." Loki turned to his audience and looked at Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. "I admit that I also took out my pain on those who had always been ignorant of my plight." He looked at Thor, Yardaff, and Heimdall. "On those who did not deserve my wrath." He inclined his head. "For this, words cannot fully express my remorse. I am truly sorry; my anger was misplaced when directed at all of you - none of you were to blame." He turned back to Odin. "I simply could not bring myself to attack the one who was truly at fault."

"Your plan was to tear the very universe apart," Odin spat.

"My plan was to end a race which I had come to realize that you believed to consist of monsters," Loki retorted. "I realized you sought to avoid war with Jotunheim, not because you respected the Frost Giants as people who had the right to live, but to protect your _own_ people from the atrocities of war, and I thought that perhaps, if I could end them with no cost to Asgard and its people, you would be glad. I also lured Laufey to your chamber to slay him - to demonstrate to you, as clearly as I could, that _you_ were my father, not he; that I had, and always would, choose you over my blood-kin." Loki took a breath and looked back at his audience. "Again, I realize I did some things in the meantime that I was not justified in; all I can say in my defense is that I was not thinking clearly at the time, and I am truly sorry for the unwarranted suffering I caused." He turned to Odin again. "Still, I came close - so very close - to succeeding in what I thought would win your favor…and how did you repay me for my efforts?"

Odin glowered but didn't speak.

"You banished me," Loki answered for him coldly. "You disowned me, and you banished me - you cast me out, took from me all that I had left to my name, and destroyed what little remained of my spirit. Your abuse and betrayal of me was complete and thorough, and you left me with less than nothing…all because I had given myself utterly to you. I gave you all of my trust, loyalty, and love, and you cast it and me aside as though it were worthless…as though _I_ were worthless. And I was, in your eye - I always had been. I understand that now." Loki stepped back and turned sideways to look at both Odin and his audience. "The rest is history," he finished.

There was silence for a minute. The tale was done, but it felt like there was more to be said; Loki wasn't satisfied. Then, he had an idea, and he smiled and turned back to Odin.

"Never let it be said that I would make the same mistake twice, however," he said. "The suffering you have caused me has been great…perhaps great enough to affect my judgement. Therefore…I relinquish my control over your fate." He turned to his audience, waving his hand to break the spell he had cast on Frigga, and said, "If one person here - even one, single person - still objects to Odin's execution, he will be released. If you _do_ object, speak now."

"What?" Yardaff exclaimed.

"You mustn't release him, Silvertongue!" Enchessa cried.

Loki inclined his head in acknowledgement of the Frost Giants. "I am fully aware of your stances on the matter," he told them, "but I will not be made a fool of. If one person feels that death is too harsh a punishment for the All-Father's crimes, I will not make the mistake of allowing my anger to get the better of me a second time." He looked at the other attendants. "Does anyone object?" he asked them.

"Nope," Jane said.

"I'm good," Darcy said.

"If a leader's going to make a decision, he has to be willing to face the consequences," Erik said, and everyone turned to him. "Odin made his choices, and now he has to answer for them. It's only fair."

Loki smiled and nodded. "Jotunheim and Earth have spoken," he observed. He looked at the Asgardians in his audience. "But, Asgardians, you have been ruled by Odin All-Father for countless ages - your judgement is better than any. Does he deserve to be spared? If any of you believes that he does, I beg of you: please, speak."

The invitation was met with a resounding, deafening silence.

Loki's heart soared, and he grinned. "Come now," he prodded, savoring the moment; "won't any of you stand to defend the wise king of the Realm Eternal? Anyone?"

Again, silence.

"Thor!" Odin's voice, heavy with panic, rang out from behind Loki. "Thor, my son-!"

"Your son?" Thor asked Odin coldly, finally looking at the All-Father. He shook his head. "What does the word 'son' mean to you, Father? Anything?"

"I-"

"Loki was a better son to you than I ever was," Thor went on icily. "Had I been in his position, I would not have saved you from Laufey - I would have let you die, after all you had done. In truth, you were no better of a father to me than you were to him - you allowed me to grow up arrogant, selfish, and reckless; you encouraged my unworthiness. Perhaps, had you not had Loki to compare me to, you would have raised me with a firmer hand, and I would have been worthy of your heritage from the beginning." Thor took a breath. "During my brief exchange with Laufey, he claimed that the house of Odin was full of traitors. I, in response, charged him not to dishonor your name with his lies, to which he in turn declared that you were a murderer and a thief. At the time, I believed he spoke of the great wars, and of the taking of the Ice Casket; now, I realize he was referring to your killing, and subsequent theft, of his first-born son. Had I but known then what I do now…I would have agreed with him. As Erik said, you made your choices, and now you must face the consequences. I will not help you."

Loki's spirits lifted immensely.

"Frigga!" Odin exclaimed, desperation evident in his tone. "My Queen, please-!"

"Oh, stop it, Odin," Frigga spat, directing a cold glare at the All-Father. "After all you've done, you would be so shameless as to turn to me for help?" She shook her head. "If you may recall, when you first brought Loki to Asgard, I had my misgivings," she said, surprising Loki. "I had my doubts about the wisdom of bringing a Jotun into our halls. You told me that he would be our son. You told me that we would raise him as our own - that we would be his family, and that his Jotun blood would be of no consequence. You told me that it would be good for Thor to have a younger brother." Her lip trembled as she fought back angry tears. "_You lied to me_," she hissed. "I believed you, and you lied to me. I trusted you. I did my best to treat Loki and Thor alike as my own sons - as equals - and I trusted you to do the same. You betrayed my trust…You betrayed _me_…And now you would ask me to defend you?" She shook her head again. "For shame," she spat. "You brought this upon yourself, Odin; I will not help you."

Tears of happiness stung Loki's eyes; this was more than he had ever dared hope for.

"Heimdall," Odin called, clearly grabbing at straws now, "please, help me! You are oath-bound to defend me-!"

"I am bound by my oaths to the King of Asgard, which you are no longer," Heimdall corrected tonelessly. "Even if you were still king, however…I would most likely still refuse to interfere," he added. He paused. "I was born gifted with great power, All-Father," he told Odin; "I can see and hear whatever I may turn my gaze upon, no matter where in the nine realms it may be…but though I can see and hear anything, anywhere, this does not mean that I always _understand_ what I see. Such was the case here. I saw the way you treated Loki and Thor as they grew up; for that matter, I saw the way the Jotuns treated one another in their society when there were no Asgardians present to quarrel with…but I did not understand what I saw. Had I understood, I would have spoken out against you." He inclined his head. "I cannot change the decisions I made in the past…but I _can_ make the _right_ decision _now_. As Her Majesty said, you've brought this upon yourself; I will not interfere."

"We were all so wrong," Sif said, glancing at the Warriors Three for support, which they gave her. She then looked at Loki. "Loki…I'm sorry," she told him. "I…misunderstood you."

"We _all_ misunderstood you," Fandral inserted.

Loki smiled and nodded at them. "I accept your apology," he assured them. "You were no more aware of the circumstances than Thor was; it would be wrong of me to begrudge you for it."

"It's time you had your way," Sif said; it was clear from her expression how difficult it was for her to bend her pride enough to say the words, but it was equally clear that she meant them. "Kill him - you've every right to."

"Agreed," Hogun said, and Fandral and Volstagg nodded in agreement likewise.

Loki couldn't help but laugh with euphoria - he had never even dared to hope for such a complete upset, but here he was. He turned to Odin. "Can you see this, All-Father?" he asked him, grinning. "I realize you can skew your own vision so that you may see what you would like to see, but surely even you cannot misunderstand what is before your all-seeing eye right here and now?"

Odin said nothing.

"Look around you, Odin!" Loki said. "This is unprecedented! Humans, Jotuns, and Asgardians - three completely different races, from completely different realms - stand united in agreement on one thing…and that one thing is that _you_ _were_ _wrong_. Can you see this?" Loki laughed again, shaking his head in elated wonder. "Tell me, All-Father, for I am most curious: Have you _anything_ to say for yourself?"

For a minute, Loki's question was met with silence. Then, Odin sighed.

"Loki…I never meant for any of this to happen," he finally said sadly.

"Oh, you don't say?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"Loki, please," Odin pleaded softly, "you misunderstand me. I never meant to hurt you. It's true I never would have considered you for the throne, but it was never because I was prejudiced against you; I merely…had other plans for you."

"Other plans…" Loki repeated coldly.

Odin sighed heavily. "I had a vision," he told Loki. "Perhaps I was too blinded by that vision to do what I ought to have done to make it happen, and for that I am sorry. What I intended was for Thor to inherit the throne from me and preserve the peace throughout the nine realms, and for you to provide a bridge between our people and the people of Jotunheim - to end the bitterness between Asgard and Jotunheim, and serve as a link through which our kingdoms might be united…an equally noble purpose." Odin took a breath. "I did not realize I was treating you poorly," he told Loki; "I simply did not wish to provide you with false hope that you might ascend to the throne when that was not the future I had planned for you. I am sorry for that." He looked at Thor. "Thor, I am also sorry that I was too dedicated to my vision for the future that I did not raise you with as firm a hand as I should have. You're right in saying I was a poor father to you as well. I'm sorry."

Thor nodded very slightly but didn't say anything.

Odin looked at Loki again. "Loki, please, I beg your forgiveness," he said. "I never meant to cause you pain - I never looked down on you for your Jotun blood. You were always my son. You…are still my son, if only you can forgive my mistake."

For a long, painful minute, there was silence as Loki and Odin locked gazes; the tension in the air was almost visible. At last, Loki took a breath; when he spoke, his voice was shaking.

"I thought," he told Odin, "that I knew the full extent of your cruelty. I thought…that I knew the true meaning of pain." He shook his head. "I was wrong," he said, barely managing to fight back tears. "I thought I knew you, but I was wrong…for I never imagined that you would have the audacity to take all the things I wanted to hear you say - everything I had hoped to be true in my deepest, most desperate dreams - look me in the eye, and speak them as fact…and lie to me, simply to save your own wretched self."

"Loki, wait!" Jane exclaimed. "How do you know he's lying?"

"Because I know what he looks like when he lies," Loki answered, not looking away from Odin. "I also know what it looks like when he admits to a painful truth he would rather keep secret. And though there is nothing in the universe I desire more than to believe you, Odin, I have exchanged the truth for pretty lies more than long enough." He shook his head again. "You disgust me," he spat.

"Fine words for the son of Laufey," Odin retorted coolly.

Loki blinked. "What was that?" he asked.

Odin's eye narrowed into a disgusted glare. "You sicken me, boy," he spat. "You always have! Like your father before you, you are a blight on this universe!"

Loki crossed his arms and nodded slightly. "Here we go," he muttered.

"I always knew this day would come," Odin told Loki contemptuously. "I knew that one day you would betray me. Your loyalty and dedication as you were growing up did not escape me - I saw, quite clearly, that you were the more worthy son during your early years…but how could I have trusted you to remain that way, knowing what you were? I knew that one day, your blood would win out in you, and that you would turn on me - no amount of parenting on my part could have changed that. Oh, how I always _dreaded_ the day when I would have to tell you of your origins!" He shook his head. "Never, in my darkest nightmares, however, did I ever dream you would turn my own people against me as well!" Odin turned his glare on the Asgardians in the audience. "You're all fools, to listen to this wretch!" he snarled at them. "I meant to protect you in your time of need, even in death - I have been preparing for this since the day Laufey declared war on Asgard once again! I have spent more than two years readying myself, so that I might seal off the realms from one another when I die, and keep the Frost Giants trapped in their cold, dark world, where they may never be able to bring chaos and destruction to the other realms ever again! But if you would turn on me when I need you, why should I go to the trouble of protecting you when you need _me_? The passages between the realms will remain open - I will not close them…and soon, be it in a year or a day, you will realize your mistake. The Jotuns will wreak havoc, unbound by our strength, most likely led by this wretched boy here-" he gestured to Loki with his head "-and you will all realize that you were fools to listen to him!"

"Tell me, All-Father," Loki said calmly: "Why not simply destroy Jotunheim? If you truly believe the Frost Giants are monsters, why did you not take the very course of action you _banished_ _me_ for attempting?"

"I swore to protect the realms," Odin spat at Loki. "The nine realms balance each other - to break that balance would mean even worse things than the Jotuns' existence."

"So let me see if I understand correctly," Loki said: "You banished me, not for attempting to destroy the race of Jotuns, _but for attempting to destroy the frozen rock upon which they dwell_?"

"The Worlds' Tree must remain whole," Odin told Loki furiously. "To destroy one of the realms would throw the entire universe out of balance! It would mean Ragnarok!"

"Well, this changes things, doesn't it?" Loki hissed sarcastically. He turned to his audience. "Given this new revelation, have any of you changed your minds about whether or not Odin All-Father should be spared?" he asked them.

"Changed our minds?" Darcy repeated incredulously. "Are you joking? He just _proved_ he deserves to die!"

"When I started piecing things together, and realized that Viking myths might be based on actual people who came through Einstein-Rosen Bridges…I thought that I had discovered the existence of advanced beings," Jane said softly, her expression profoundly sad, as though all her dreams had been crushed. "But…if this is the sort of person the Vikings worshipped, then I was wrong in thinking you were ahead of us in culture. Most people on Earth are a lot less blindly prejudiced than this."

"Father…I once said that there would never be a wiser king than you, or a better father," Thor said, his face carved in stone; "I see now that those words could not have been more false. I am ashamed to share your blood - the sons of my sons will still be working to restore honor to our family, after what you have done." He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. "You are not my father," he told Odin, his voice cracking; "I have no father."

"Alas, that I was so foolish as to stand by you for all these years," Frigga lamented. "Oh, for shame, that I bore you a son. For shame, that I ever loved you. I will spend the rest of my days working to redeem myself for the mistake of serving as your consort. I renounce you, Odin, here and now, and I pray it's not too late for me."

"You are not the wise king to whom I believed I had pledged my loyalty," Heimdall said stonily. "Had I but known your nature, I would never have served under you. Nay - I would have fought against you, with all my strength."

"I think we all would have," Sif added, glancing at the Warriors Three for support.

"Indeed," Volstagg agreed.

"All this time, we had it backwards," Fandral said; "we thought your enemies were monsters, and you the noble one, but in truth, All-Father, it is _you_ who is the monster."

"Hey, I have a question," Darcy piped up.

Everyone turned to her.

"Why do you all keep calling him 'All-Father'?" Darcy asked. "I mean, he couldn't even take care of his own sons - what the heck is he supposed to be the father of?"

"The mortal speaks true," Enchessa commented, turing a wrathful glare back on Odin. "'Father' is no name you deserve."

"No, seriously, what's he supposed to be the father of?" Darcy asked.

"Nightmares," Loki answered, turning to Odin again. "Odin One-Eye is the Father of Nightmares."

"Well said," Hogun commented.

"The Father of Nightmares…about to meet his end in a nightmare of his own," Yardaff added.

Loki smiled and nodded.

"End this now, Silvertongue!" Enchessa called, smiling viciously.

"With pleasure," Loki said coldly, glaring at Odin.

Loki slowly clenched his fist around a dagger he summoned in his hand - not a dagger of green magic, like he usually used, but a dagger of ice, like that which Laufey had tried and failed twice to use to end Odin's life. He stepped forward, still meeting and returning Odin's hateful glare, raised the blade of ice to Odin's throat, and…


	29. Chapter 29

…hesitated.

His hesitation surprised him. He _wanted_ to kill Odin - he _hated_ Odin, and had every right to. Humans, Jotuns, and Asgardians alike - including Odin's own family - agreed that Odin _deserved_ to die. But he couldn't do it.

He just…couldn't…do it.

For a moment, Loki thought that maybe Odin was using magic to stop him, so he closed his eyes and focused. He thought about how much he hated Odin, about all the pain he had been forced to endure, and everything else Odin had done. He cast around with his own magic, trying to block out any influences that might be staying his hand.

But still, his hand didn't move, because the resistance was inside him.

For several more minutes, Loki fought with himself. He felt everyone's eyes on him, and he knew that it would be better for _everyone_ if he could just make himself do it. But no matter how he argued with himself, it was all to no avail.

At last, Loki opened his eyes, gave Odin one last wrathful glare…then sighed heavily, shook his head, and stepped back, lowering his weapon.

"I cannot," he said softly. He closed his eyes, turned his back to Odin, and cast his ice dagger aside, allowing it to shatter on the floor. "Someone else do it - I cannot," he said.

"Loki," Frigga said softly as he walked towards her, away from Odin. She put a hand on his arm comfortingly. He looked at her, showing with his eyes that he appreciated her touch, but said nothing.

"Silvertongue, you mustn't do this!" Enchessa exclaimed, her momentary shock wearing off. "After all he's done-!"

"I am not asking that he be spared!" Loki snapped at Enchessa. His face fell, and he sighed again. "I simply cannot end him myself." He looked at Yardaff. "Brother, next to me, you have the most right to do it…If the gates between the realms will remain open, it ought to be you."

Yardaff nodded.

"Loki."

Loki turned at the soft voice, and saw that Odin was looking at him, not with anger or hatred, but with total confusion.

"I don't understand," Odin said softly. "After all this, you wouldn't-?"

"I _would_, if I could," Loki told him. "There is very little that I want more…but I cannot. I know not why."

Odin shook his head slightly, apparently speechless. There was silence for a moment. Then, Yardaff spoke.

"Know this, Father of Nightmares," he said to Odin: "The blood for which you so despised my brother…is the very thing that stays his hand now."

Everyone turned to the Jotun prince.

"We are not a race of warriors," Yardaff said; "vengeance in blood is not our way, save for the most heinous of crimes…and no Jotun would raise a hand to his father, no matter how much he may deserve it. The bond of family cannot be broken - not even when it should. My brother has proven himself a true Jotun this day." He turned to Loki. "Our father would be proud," he said.

Loki bowed his head. "Thank you," he whispered.

Yardaff nodded.

"But…but it's Loki's Frost Giant blood that turned him against me to begin with!" Odin sputtered. "He…he was _always_ going to turn on me, _because_ he is a Jotun!"

Yardaff shook his head. "You do not understand us, Father of Nightmares," he stated. "We are not a violent or treacherous race. On the contrary, we value peace and unity very highly."

Loki looked back at Odin just in time to see something behind the ancient Asgardian's eyes break. Odin shook his head manically. "This cannot be," he said softly, more to himself than anyone in the audience. "I could not have been so mistaken…"

"When you hold more power than anyone around you, it can be easy…to become conceited," Enchessa said slowly.

Everyone turned to her. Her eyes were wide, as though she herself was surprised by the words coming out of her mouth.

"It can be easy to forget…that you do not know everything…and that…just because you believe something to be true, does not make it so," she went on. "My people…" She cleared her throat. "The people of Jotunheim…do not…take pleasure in battle…by nature. We…_They_…value unity and equality. Power can corrupt anyone…even those who, by nature, ought not to be…violent." She looked at Yardaff. He smiled and nodded at her.

"But I…" Odin began to protest, but his words died in his mouth. Everyone turned back to him, and watched as his eye turned to each of the faces before him.

"Could I really have been so wrong?" he asked softly after a minute.

"Uh, _yeah_," Darcy said. "That's what three different races have been trying to tell you this whole time."

"Oh, my…" Odin's face fell. He closed his eye painfully. "What have I done…?" he whispered remorsefully. He quickly looked up at Loki. "Loki…" he breathed. "Oh, Loki, I'm so sorry…"

"It's too late for that," Yardaff began, taking a step forward, but Loki held up a hand to stop him.

"One moment, brother," he said to the Jotun prince. He turned to Odin. "Now that I think on it, there is one last thing I would ask…One last question that has troubled me for some time now."

No one said anything. Loki walked back down the steps to his former position in front of Odin.

"Odin," he said.

"Yes?" Odin whispered.

"When I first realized what I was, I was shocked," Loki said. "After the shock wore off, I became angry. As I began to understand the true cause of all my suffering, I began to shout at you…and as I shouted, you collapsed into the Odin Sleep. Tell me: Why did that happen?"

Odin blinked.

"Was the stress simply too much for you to bear?" Loki asked. "Did your strength simply fail you? Or did you succumb _willingly_, so that you would not have to face my accusations, nor answer for what you had done to me?"

"I…"

"Take care with how you answer me," Loki said coldly.

There was silence for a minute as Odin thought; everyone watching didn't hardly dare to breathe. At last, Odin sighed.

"That day…everything went wrong," he said. "It was to be my day of triumph, when all I had worked for would at last be brought to fruition. I had delayed my rest because I was so close…and then, everything went wrong. Thor was unworthy of the throne, and had been so reckless I had to banish him for what he'd done; Laufey had declared an end to the truce that I had hoped would hold until I could ensure a more permanent peace through you…and then, you discovered your origins in the worst way possible - through your own cleverness and observation, rather than my telling you. As I said, I always feared how you would react when I told you the truth…and when you began to shout at me, I believed my worst fears had come true." He sighed again. "It was…the worst thing that could have happened. _Everything_ had gone so utterly wrong…and I…I could no longer bear it. I couldn't bring myself to continue to face what my world had become."

Loki said nothing.

"Loki…I abandoned you, at the very time when you needed me the most, and I am truly sorry for that," Odin told Loki, "but I was not _fleeing_ you. It was with relief that I succumbed to the ailment of my age, but not because I could not bear to face you alone. It was neither cowardice nor lack of strength that brought me down that day; rather, it was my hope that failed me. I fell to despair, believing that there was simply no point in continuing to try to accomplish anything. I thought I had lost everything, and had nothing left to lose by giving in." His eye glistened with a tear. "I was wrong, though," he whispered. "I had not lost everything then…_Now_ is the time when I have lost everything."

Loki looked at Odin for a long moment, reading everything there was to see in the ancient Asgardian warrior's lone eye. He recognized the pain he had felt the night he had shouted to the skies of Earth - the belief that everything was gone. He remembered what he had prayed for: that Odin would one day know what it was to have everything brutally stripped from him, just as he had done to Loki. His prayer had come true. But, as he thought about it, he realized something else…

"No," Loki finally said tonelessly; "not everything."

Then, Loki raised his hand, ice sprayed in all directions, and Odin crumpled to the floor.


	30. Chapter 30

~Two Days Later~

Enchessa leapt at Sif, blade raised, teeth bared in a feral snarl. She was nimble and swift, and Sif just barely managed to evade her attack, rolling away on the golden floor.

Sif scrambled to her feet and raised her spear, only to dive to the floor again as Enchessa twirled around and sent a blade of ice slicing through the air where Sif's torso had been mere moments before. Enchessa's twirl left her momentarily off-balance, and Sif leapt from her position lying prone on the floor to take advantage of her brief window of opportunity. Enchessa blocked Sif's spear with an ice blade just in time.

The two warrior-maidens stood deadlocked for a moment, pushing against each other with all their strength, glaring into each other's eyes for some hint as to when the other would make her next move.

Sif gave Enchessa a small smirk, then maneuvered her spear to disarm the Jotun. Enchessa released her weapon without resistance and leapt back, creating an icicle spear as she did so that was almost identical to Sif's (minus the decorations).

The lack of resistance was unexpected, and Sif stumbled, almost falling entirely to the floor again. She barely recovered in time to block Enchessa's counter attack, then took a step back to give herself some room.

The two warrior-maidens began a quick succession of attacks, blocks, and counter-attacks that gave neither of them any leverage. After about a minute of this, Sif realized she had to strike out to break the pattern, and she made a bold lunge at her Jotun opponent.

It was the moment Enchessa had been waiting for. She nimbly sidestepped the attack, then struck Sif's spear with enough force to send it skittering along the floor and knock the Asgardian maiden off her feet. Sif rolled over to push herself up, but before she could, Enchessa planted a foot on her chest and swept her blade up to just under Sif's chin.

Sif lay completely still on her back, Enchessa's icicle spear to her throat, searching for some way out. She couldn't find one.

She was silent for a whole minute, then finally sighed. "Very well," she said; "I concede defeat."

Enchessa smiled and released Sif, tossing her icicle spear to the side. Then, she offered her hand to her fallen opponent, covering it in ice so she wouldn't burn the Asgardian with her frost touch. Sif begrudgingly accepted the help and stood.

From a safe distance away, Thor, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Yardaff, along with several other Jotuns and Asgardians, applauded.

"I did tell you, brother, that no one could best my lady," Yardaff said to Thor.

"So you did, brother, so you did," Thor agreed.

Yardaff smiled broadly as Enchessa walked over to him. "That was well done, My Queen," he told her; "you've done our realm proud."

"Did you doubt me?" Enchessa teased lightheartedly.

"Never," Yardaff said, still smiling.

Thor smiled at Sif as she rejoined her friends. "Well fought, Sif," he said.

"Oh please," she scoffed, "don't patronize me." She glared at Enchessa. "And next time, do not think I will allow you to best me so easily."

"That was far from easy," Enchessa laughed. "I've fought the entire army of Asgard, and nothing they could throw at me put up _half_ as much of a fight as you did."

"Well, be sure I'll put up _more_ of a fight in our next duel," Sif countered.

Enchessa smiled and nodded. "I look forward to it, Lady Sif," she said respectfully.

Loki stood away from the others, smirking. He had wondered which of the two exceptional females would come out on top, but he wasn't terribly surprised that Enchessa had been the victor…nor was he terribly displeased. _Sif is almost as arrogant as Thor was - the occasional defeat is good for her,_ he thought, a bit smugly.

He watched the others for a bit longer, then turned and silently slipped from the room. No one noticed him go.

~o~

Loki paused for a moment when he saw the lone figure standing on the balcony and looking out over the realm. When the old Asgardian didn't notice him, Loki walked up beside him and joined him in observing the land.

For another moment, there was silence. Then Loki said, "You've been spending a great deal of time here lately."

"The throne is no longer mine to occupy," Odin said.

Loki nodded. There was silence again.

Finally, Odin sighed. "My time is coming to an end," he said.

Loki looked at him. "You have a few years still in you."

"A few," Odin agreed morosely; "not nearly enough to make up for all that I've done."

Loki thought for a moment. "Well," he said at last, "the hardest part is admitting you were wrong."

Odin hesitated only a moment before asking, "Why did you spare me?"

Loki sighed and turned back to the whole of the realm. "Well, the Jotuns forgave me for trying to destroy their realm even _before_ I admitted that _I_ had been wrong. I've been mistaken and done terrible things as a result as well…but I was given a second chance after I realized what was right. I once thought I'd lost everything, but the truth is I'd had my life, if nothing else, and I was able to find a new way eventually." He looked at Odin again. "My wish was that you would know what it was to lose everything, just as I had. I got my wish…and just as I had still lived, there was no _great_ reason not to show you the same mercy."

"But to conjure a Jotun royal decree…" Odin began.

"It was the only other way to end it," Loki said. "The Jotuns would have gone on fighting forever had I not. Well," he amended, "I suppose Yardaff might have ordered them not to, as he was willing to bear witness to my decree, but the resulting peace would have been as unstable as ever. I wanted this to end for good."

Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Odin nod. There was silence for another minute. Then, Loki chuckled as he realized something.

"You know, it's funny," he said; "in the end, what you hoped to accomplish by taking me has at last come to be - the realms of Asgard and Jotunheim now stand united as allies and friends."

"The cost was great," Odin said.

Loki sombered a bit. "It was," he agreed.

"Far greater than I would have liked," Odin went on.

"Far greater than _any_ of us would have liked," Loki said. "Still, it's over now, and though the lives of the fallen can never be restored, we can rebuild the rest."

"Had I not taken you, there would have been no more fighting," Odin lamented.

"Perhaps not," Loki said, "but the Jotuns would still distrust you, and all the people of Asgard. There would likely have been no unity - peace, perhaps, but no true _unity_." A half-smile formed on his lips as he added, "In any case, had you not taken me, our union would not be quite so complete as it is now, as I am brother to the kings of both realms."

That managed to get a small, halfhearted chuckle out of the ancient Asgardian.

Loki smiled. When Odin said nothing else, Loki turned back to look at the remains of the Bifrost in the distance. There was a lot of activity surrounding the jagged edge where Thor had smashed it.

"Thank you for what you did for Darcy, Jane, and Erik," Loki said, turning back to Odin again; "I doubt I would have been able to use magic that powerful before it was too late."

"You would not have," Odin confirmed, "and…it was the least I could do. I still fail to understand what you and Thor could possibly see in mortal women, but…I suppose thinking it was my place to judge those I knew little about has caused enough trouble as it is."

Loki nodded. "That's very kind and noble of you…More like the great King of Asgard that most people think of you as than the Odin I used to know."

Odin closed his eyes and nodded but said nothing.

Loki thought for a moment. "You know, I've been thinking," he finally said; "I've belonged to three different races at one point or another, yet I've always been myself - changing races has never affected _who_ I am…so perhaps, the different races of the universe aren't so different as we might believe."

"Of _course_ they're different!" Odin said, sounding surprised by Loki's words.

"They are," Loki agreed, nodding, "but perhaps not as much as most would believe. If there's one thing I learned during my two years away from this realm, it's that, as individuals and communities, members of all races are people, no matter what else they may be. It also seems to me that all races have different outlooks on the universe - different aspects of life that they know best. Here on Asgard, the people are strong, brave, and honorable; in Jotunheim, the people value loyalty, unity, and equality; and on Earth, the people may not be capable of the kind of power the other races wield, yet they know what truly matters better than we who are blinded by our superior abilities, and find happiness in small things." He turned to Odin. "All of the races have lessons to teach one another - everyone would benefit from alliance with the other realms."

"What are you saying?" Odin asked.

"I'm saying I see no reason why the newfound unity between Asgard and Jotunheim should end here," Loki replied. "Perhaps it is time for us to resurface from man's myths and legends - maybe even extend a hand of friendship to the other realms." He looked back towards the Bifrost, his eyes going out focus as he thought about it. "Can you imagine that?" he asked softly. "All nine realms, united as one kingdom, one universe…"

"No, Loki, I cannot," Odin answered. "What you're suggesting is madness."

Instead of being put off, Loki laughed. "Madness, Odin?" he teased the former king, turning back to him. "A mortal woman turned Asgardian is rebuilding the shattered Bifrost, and the kings of Asgard and Jotunheim refer to each other as 'brother'. I'd say madness is already the way of things…" He smiled. "…and it's beautiful."

For a minute, Odin said nothing. Finally, he asked, "Have you spoken with Thor about this?"

"Not yet," Loki answered.

"If you attempt to bring this idea to fruition, there is a terrible risk of another great war," Odin said.

"I am not proposing we attempt to _conquer_ the other realms," Loki told him; "I'm proposing that we attempt to _unite_ with them - enter alliances of mutual respect and friendship, so that all the realms might learn from one another." He thought for a moment, then added, "It's true that there would most likely be a transition period…but I would rather we work to _prevent_ fighting, not enter it."

Again, Odin was silent for a while - so long that Loki started to get slightly nervous. Then, Odin said, "I could not have been more wrong about you. That you would seek to bring about a universe as ideal as that…" He shook his head. "I realize I have done terrible things to you, but…I believe you may be the best thing I ever did."

Loki blinked. "I only ever wanted to make you proud," he said.

"You've done that and more," Odin told Loki, finally turning to face him. "You are a far greater and wiser person than I ever was."

Tears welled in Loki's eyes. "Thank you," he managed.

Odin nodded, then sighed and turned back to the view. "I won't live long enough to see the universe you intend to create, but I will do whatever I can to assist you in what time I have left."

Loki managed to compose himself. "I would be most grateful for any assistance you can lend…Father."

It was Odin's turn to blink. He looked at Loki again. "I don't deserve to be called your father," he said.

"We all make mistakes," Loki said; "I did, too. In the end, though, you raised me, and you did well enough. You were never evil, only mistaken - as was I. As those I hurt have forgiven me…I forgive you, for everything." He managed a small smile. "Regardless of your mistakes, you are my father - no less so than Laufey."

Odin took a deep, shaky breath, tears welling in _his_ eye now. "If that's so, then I could not ask for a better son," he said; "I thank you."

"And I you, Father," Loki said. He gave Odin a slight, informal bow, then turned and left to begin planning with Thor to create a better universe for everyone.

~THE END~


	31. Author's Notes

Yes, I'm dedicating an entire chapter to "Author's Notes". I spent over a year writing this thing, and it's nearly 100,000 words long, so…yeah. Deal with it. ;P

Before I say anything else, I first want to thank everyone who has Favorited, subscribed to, and given high-praise reviews of this story - you're all the main reason I was driven to continue writing, and I hope you're happy with the result. I also feel obligated to give credit to the bands Sum 41, Avenged Sevenfold, and Blind Guardian for the songs "Walking Disaster", "Nightmare", and "Battlefield", respectively; listening to the lyrics of those three songs rarely failed to put me in a mood to continue writing, which was especially important here at the end, after the "evil cliffhanger" in chapter 28, when (at the worst possible time) I was getting tired of writing and wanted to take a break. I know it was a long wait, but without those songs, it would have been a LOT longer, so if you can, check them out! ;)

Next, I'd like to make some notes regarding the history of this story for those who haven't been with me since the very beginning. Many of you have probably noticed that the first chapter was unnecessarily long and could easily have been split into multiple chapters; the reason I published it all at once was, I was not originally planning on publishing the entire story - I just wanted to put up something to express my take on the movie. The REASON I was hesitant to publish the whole thing was mainly Larcy, which I know was cringe-worthy at times - believe it or not, when I imagined this story in my head, it was a lot worse than what I ended up writing. The reason I finally decided to continue the story was the appearance of the movie "The Avengers", in which Loki was not only A villain, but the ONLY villain. It always makes me so furious when people hate on Loki, for reasons I make clear in this story; I figured, since the movie makers were continuing to support the "Loki is evil" portrayal, I was obligated to continue supporting the "Loki is misunderstood" portrayal in turn. I will also note that I have not actually SEEN "The Avengers", nor will I ever do so - it infuriates me too much. Still, you can thank that movie for the completion of this story, so I suppose it served a good purpose in the end.

Thirdly, I want to strongly advise that anyone who enjoyed this story NOT look up the original Norse myths - the night I did that was an extremely depressing one. It was mainly depressing because of Loki's ultimate fate, but some other things I learned clashed strongly with some of the things in either the movie or my story; some of the problems I found between the movie (or my writing) and the myths are as follows:

~In the myths, Sif was actually an earth goddess - not to mention Thor's WIFE - while in the movie (and, presumably, the comic series) Sif was portrayed as a warrior and Thor's battle companion.

~The Jotunheim portrayed in the movie was basically Niflheim, in that it contained only Frost Giants and was cold and dark and such.

~In the original myths, Laufey was actually a FEMALE, the MOTHER of Loki, and weak at that - not a ruler of Jotunheim.

~Odin's eight-legged horse - which he rode when he rescued Thor, Loki, and their friends from Jotunheim in the movie - was actually, in the original myths, a creature that Loki had given birth to himself.

~I accidentally predicted the beautiful female Frost Giant, Skadi. Granted, in Norse mythology, she married an Asgardian, and in some myths later divorced her first husband and married Odin, so she wasn't much like my Enchessa, but as I've mentioned, a lot of the characters of myth were given entirely new identities for the sake of this storyline. I'd already given Enchessa a name, though, so I had to put Skadi in the story another way.

~In the myths, the banquet hall of Odin on Asgard WAS Valhalla, while, when Thor said something about Volstagg thinking he'd DIED and gone to Valhalla (instead of actually being there), it was implied that that was not the case in the movie.

Another other problem I had with the movie was, the beginning said that the war between Asgard and Jotunheim over Earth happened in nine-hundred-something A.D.; the problem with that is, the myths about Loki and Thor were made at that time, which would be impossible if they had been newborns (or completely unborn) back then. So I say the war happened sometime in B.C. Deal with it. ;D

I also think it's worth noting that, in the entire movie, the word "love" (or one of its derivatives) was only said out loud four times: One time was by Odin, as an adjective (describing the "loved ones" Thor had betrayed); the other three times - all the times it was used as a verb (as in, "TO love") - it was said by Loki. Intentional or not, I feel like that says a lot about who values what.

Finally, I've received reviews more recently asking what actually happened at the end. There's a reason I wanted to leave as much to the imagination as possible, which is that I didn't feel like I could describe it outright effectively. Apparently, though, I was too vague, so let me clarify: Loki forgives Odin for being a jerk, recognizing that he made the same mistakes himself pretty much, and asks Yardaff and Enchessa to bear witness as he conjures a Jotun Royal Decree that Odin and his people are no longer to be considered enemies of Jotunheim etc. Odin then, out of gratitude, uses his mighty powers to turn Darcy, Jane, and Erik all into Asgardians, giving them the powers and longevity that come with the race. Jane, being thus able to use magic herself, starts combining her human expertise with her new Asgardian abilities to rebuild the Bifrost. Enchessa realizes what a jerk she was and repents, and she marries Yardaff and they live happily ever after because she's not so stuck-up anymore; the kings of Jotunheim and Asgard thus sharing brotherhood with a common person (Loki) and all misunderstandings having been cleared, the two realms enter a friendship/alliance. And, obviously, Darcy and Loki get their happily-ever-after, too - that was the part I was most nervous to write, as, again, I know the Larcy bits in this story got cringe-worthy and I really didn't write them well. I've improved as a writer since I finished this, but I think I'll leave it as-is.

Anyway, thank you all very much for making this my most popular fanfic to date - I cannot express in words how pleased I am that so many people understood what I was trying to say with this story. And always remember: There are no evil people, only evil deeds, and understanding the motives behind those deeds can lead to entirely different perceptions of them.

Take care! :D


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